Yusril Praises Delpedro and Colleagues for Facing Legal Proceedings Responsibly
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, has praised the stance of Lokataru Foundation Executive Director Delpedro Marhaen and colleagues (dkk) who are facing legal proceedings openly and responsibly.
When he visited Delpedro in the Metro Jaya Police detention cell in September last year, Yusril briefly urged that the legal process could be faced by Delpedro and colleagues with a chivalrous attitude.
‘As a former activist who has traversed various routes of legal struggle, I tell you that as activists, Delpedro must dare to fight back and be a gentleman,’ Yusril said when contacted in Jakarta on Friday.
At that time, the coordinating minister asked Delpedro and colleagues to prove their innocence in court.
Yusril then hoped that Delpedro and colleagues, as activists, should treat arrests and the investigative process as a stage to practise becoming future leaders.
According to him, such an attitude is important for an activist to be able to fight for their beliefs through lawful channels and the legitimate democratic process.
In the acquittal verdict against Delpedro and colleagues, he noted that usually judges declare rehabilitation of dignity, reputation, and the defendant’s standing.
‘I have not read the decision in full yet, whether rehabilitation is included by the judge or not. If not included, Delpedro and colleagues can be rehabilitated by the President,’ he said.
In addition to Delpedro, three other defendants were acquitted, namely Lokataru staff Muzaffar Salim, Gejayan Memanggil admin Syahdan Husein, and Aliansi Mahasiswa Penggugat admin Khariq Anhar.
The four defendants have been acquitted after being found not guilty of committing a criminal act in the alleged incitement case at the August 2025 demonstrations that ended in clashes.
In court, the public prosecutors were deemed unable to present evidence showing any attempt at manipulation, fabrication or fraud of facts by the defendants.
Therefore, the Panel of Judges ordered the public prosecutors to restore the rights of the defendants in their ability, position, dignity and honour.
Earlier, the four defendants were charged with two years’ imprisonment on the basis of being convincingly proven guilty of committing the crime, namely jointly committing a crime in public with spoken or written incitement to urge people to commit a crime, or incite people to oppose the authorities with violence.
In that case, Delpedro and colleagues were accused of uploading 80 collaborative contents that incited hatred against the government from 24-29 August 2025.
It was stated that the defendants uploaded electronic information on social media managed by the four defendants, which urged students to participate in riots.
The invitation via social media was produced from 24-29 August 2025, wherein the narratives uploaded by the defendants allegedly influenced and led students, typically underage, to be incited and follow for anarchy in front of the DPR RI, in front of the Metro Jaya Police, and at several other locations.
One of the uploads cited as part of the indictment was a poster titled ‘Legal aid for students taking to the streets’ with the caption ‘You students taking part in the action? Do not fear intimidation or criminalisation; contact us immediately’.