Protest in Front of the Yogyakarta Regional Police Headquarters, Demonstrators Protest the Death of a Student in Maluku

Hundreds of protesters, consisting of students and the general public, held a demonstration in front of the Yogyakarta Regional Police Headquarters. This action is a form of public anger towards the incident involving a member of the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) who assaulted a teenager to death in Maluku.

“This is a form of the anger of the people of Yogyakarta regarding what happened in Maluku. There was a 14-year-old boy who was not doing anything wrong, just riding his motorbike, when he was suddenly hit on the head with a helmet and died,” said one of the protesters, identified as UDE, on Tuesday (24/2/2026).

He said that the public no longer believes in police reform. Since the last action in August last year, there have been no significant changes.

“What is happening is that the people of Yogyakarta today understand that the problem is not just a few individuals, but the entire institution. So this action is an effort to express the anger of the people of Yogyakarta,” he said.

In this action, they did not bring a stage for speeches. There were also no specific demands being voiced. This action is described as a fluid action.

“In fact, we don’t have any demands, no draft of demands, no stage for speeches, and so on. So this action is indeed fluid, it’s really fluid,” he said.

He has not been able to confirm whether all the actions in this demonstration took place spontaneously, including when they spray-painted the fence and tore down the wall. According to UDE, this is a form of expressing disappointment with the police institution.

“We don’t have an action plan. It’s really an action where people know that they will gather at 4:30 pm at UPN, then walk together to the Police Headquarters, and that’s it, they occupy the area of the Police Headquarters. That’s all, it’s that simple,” he said.

“There is no time limit and so on, nor are there any planned activities,” he added.

As of 7:25 pm, the protesters had torn down the eastern fence of the Yogyakarta Regional Police Headquarters. They pushed into the courtyard of the police headquarters.

However, barbed wire was set up in the courtyard of the Police Headquarters to prevent the protesters from entering further. However, the protesters were able to tear down the barbed wire.

Meanwhile, members of the Yogyakarta Regional Police were on standby across from the barbed wire. They were on standby with one armored vehicle.

It is known that a Brimob member named Bripda Mesias Siahaya assaulted a Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) student, AT (14), to death in the city of Tual. Mesias was then dismissed from the police force.

Previously, he had apologized and admitted that he was negligent, which caused the teenager’s death.

“I sincerely apologize to the parents and family of the victim. I was negligent, I didn’t think about the impact that would result from my negligence,” said Bripda Mesias during the Police Code of Ethics Hearing (KKEP) at the Maluku Police Headquarters, Tuesday (24/2) early morning, as reported by detikSulsel.

(apu/apl)