PTUN Schedules Ruling on Lawsuit Against Culture Minister Fadli Zon for 21 April
The Coalition of Civil Society Against Impunity has stated that the panel of judges at the Jakarta Administrative Court (PTUN) will read out the ruling on the lawsuit concerning Culture Minister Fadli Zon’s denial of the mass rape case in May 1998. Daniel Winarta, the legal representative of the Coalition of Civil Society, said the ruling will be read on 21 April 2026.
Daniel hopes that the PTUN judges will grant several demands against Culture Minister Fadli Zon for denying the evidence of the mass rape tragedy. “Two of the demands include deciding that Fadli Zon’s statement and attitude constitute an unlawful act. Fadli must retract his statement,” said Daniel during a press conference in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, 7 April 2026.
The lawyer from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) explained that the lawsuit was filed in September 2025. Throughout the trial, the coalition presented 95 documentary evidences, 5 electronic evidences, 5 experts, and 2 witnesses. All of them, he said, strengthen the existence of mass rapes in 1998. “Mass rapes are a historical fact,” he stated.
He explained that the state had also investigated the incident through the establishment of the Joint Fact-Finding Team (TGPF). The TGPF report even became the basis for a joint statement by five state officials, namely the Minister of Defence, Minister of Justice, Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Attorney General. “The TGPF document serves as the basis for the investigation document. This is an official document at the investigation stage in the legal process,” he said.
According to Daniel, as the Minister of Culture, Fadli is not authorised to doubt that data. The coalition views Fadli’s statement as a form of public deception and an obstruction to the human rights court process, as regulated by Law No. 26 of 2000 on the Human Rights Court.
The coalition also considers this lawsuit relevant because Fadli is a public official. Law No. 30 of 2014 on Government Administration opens the door to suing the actions or statements of state officials. Public officials, he said, must adhere to the principles of law and human rights and not act arbitrarily.
Over the six-month trial, the coalition assessed that Fadli’s statement contradicts various regulations, from the Human Rights Law, the Human Rights Court Law, to the Government Administration Law. He is also suspected of violating general principles of good governance, such as legal certainty, prudence, and impartiality. “In terms of substance and authority, it contradicts various laws and principles. We await the judges’ courage to deliver the ruling,” he said.
The Coalition of Civil Society Against Impunity officially sued Fadli Zon at the Jakarta PTUN on Thursday, 11 September 2025. The lawsuit was filed over Fadli’s statement denying evidence of mass rapes in the May 1998 incident.
The coalition consists of several figures and organisations, including former Attorney General Marzuki Darusman, Ita F. Nadia (Chair of the May 1998 TGPF), Kusmiyati (victim’s companion), Sandyawan Sumardi (parent of a May 1998 arson victim), the Indonesian Chinese Youth Association, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, and Kalyanamitra.
Previously, Fadli Zon stated that rewriting history aims to clarify various rumours that have long been considered facts. He cited the issue of mass rapes in May 1998 as one example to be corrected.
“Mass rapes according to whom? There has never been any proof. It’s a story. If there is, show it; is it in the history books?” said Fadli Zon in an interview aired on the YouTube channel IDN Time on Wednesday, 11 June 2025.