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View all search resultsActivists’ acquittal of riot incitement hailed as democratic win
Human rights activists call the ruling to acquit four activists of incitement charges surrounding the nationwide riots in August 2025 to become a precedent for hundreds of other activists and protesters who are still facing prosecution.
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Lokataru Foundation director Delpedro Marhaen celebrates with supporters on March 6, 2026 after he and other activists were acquitted from charges of inciting nationwide riots in August 2025 at the Central Jakarta District Court in Jakarta. (Antara/Bayu Pratama S)
C
ivil society groups welcomed the acquittal of four human rights activists charged with inciting last August’s nationwide riot as a victory for freedom of expression, as officials called law enforcement officers to respect and not challenge the ruling.
On Friday, judges with the Central Jakarta District Court found Lokataru Foundation director Delpedro Marhaen and staff Muzaffar Salim, student movement "Gejayan Memanggil" activist Syahdan Husein and Riau University student Khariq Anhar not guilty of incitement and recruiting children for criminal activities during nationwide anti-government protests and unrest in late August and early September last year.
The bench upheld that the activists were only exercising their right to express disappointment toward the government through 19 social media posts, rejecting prosecutors’ indictment that the posts contributed to riots.
The Alliance of Youth Movement Against Criminalization (GMLK), which monitored and assisted hundreds of people detained after the August unrest, called the ruling “a breath of fresh air amid bad news in democracy”, said GMLK campaigner Vamellia Bella.
“It affirms that democracy and freedom of expression are never given for granted, but must be continuously fought for and voiced,” Vamellia said.
But she said the victory was not complete, as many of the other protesters had been convicted or remained in custody, showing inconsistency in how courts handled protest-related criminalization cases.
Read also: Crackdown on August unrest biggest state suppression since 1998: Report
