Yusril tells Delpedro Marhaen and others: Compensation must be pursued via pre-trial

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, explained the compensation claims filed by Delpedro Marhaen, Executive Director of Lokataru Foundation. He said the material damages arising from arrest and detention must be pursued through the pre-trial channel. The move is based on the newly updated Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), which explicitly regulates the right of a defendant who has been acquitted to claim damages.

‘Delpedro can file for compensation through the praperadilan legal remedy at the Central Jakarta District Court, the court that previously examined and ruled on the case,’ Yusril said, as quoted by Antara on Saturday 7 March. He noted that under Articles 176 and 177 of the new KUHAP, a judge hearing the principal case has the authority to consider such compensation requests in a pre-trial hearing. This underscores that government agencies, the police, and prosecutors cannot grant damages unilaterally without a court decision.

‘Compensation must be pursued through the praperadilan mechanism as laid out in Articles 173, 174 and 175 of the new KUHAP,’ he said. ‘Whatever the court’s decision, the government will be bound by and respect it.’ The Minister went on to encourage Delpedro to fight for his rights. The legal action is seen as potentially establishing a new precedent in Indonesia’s legal history. ‘Who knows, the court’s ruling may become jurisprudence for handling similar cases in the future,’ he added. He also noted that if this application proceeds, Delpedro and colleagues are likely to be the first party to employ the damages mechanism under the new KUHAP.

On the issue of rehabilitation rights, Yusril argued that the claim has already been fulfilled by the acquittal sentence. The decision acquitting them automatically restores the defendants’ legal status. ‘Therefore, the President does not need to issue a separate rehabilitation decision,’ he said.

The four defendants had previously faced a two-year prison term on charges of incitement during the August 2025 demonstrations. Prosecutors had accused their social media postings, including the poster ‘Legal Aid for Students’, of inciting riots and involving minors in anarchic protests in front of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) and Polda Metro Jaya. However, in court, prosecutors were deemed unable to prove manipulation or fabrication of facts. The panel of judges ordered restoration of the defendants’ rights in terms of capacity, status, and dignity.

Minister Yusril also cautioned law enforcement agencies to be careful after Delpedro Marhaen and colleagues were acquitted. Lokataru’s director and colleagues faced today’s verdict hearing at the Central Jakarta District Court related to the alleged incitement case. The South Jakarta District Court, meanwhile, handed a supervisory sentence to Laras Faizati in the post-August 2025 incitement case and ordered her release from detention.