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View all search resultsSix settlers in Tesso Nilo National Park sentenced to six months in prison
The defendants allegedly dismantled posts and destroyed equipment and other property belonging to the Forest Enforcement Task Force (PKH) causing estimated state losses of around Rp 50 million.
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Forest rangers and policemen pose on June 10, 2025, in front of a demolished illegal structure inside the Tesso Nilo National Park in Pelalawan regency, Riau. The personnel are part of the Garuda Task Force for Forest Enforcement to rehabilitate forest areas in Indonesia. (Antaranews.com/Forestry Ministry)
P
ekanbaru district court in Riau has sentenced six settlers in Tesso Nilo national forest to six months in prison for demolishing two Forest Enforcement Task Force (PKH) posts, as efforts to relocate residents from the protected forest remain stalled.
Presiding judge Jonson Parancis ruled on Thursday that the defendants were proven to have jointly committed vandalism against public property.
“The court sentences each defendant to six months’ imprisonment, minus time already served during detention,” he said while reading the verdict.
According to court proceedings, the destruction of the two PKH task force posts took place on Nov. 21 last year. The six defendants, along with hundreds of other people, arrived at the location in two trucks.
They then demanded that PKH personnel vacate the post, which served as a base for authorities tasked with addressing illegal encroachment and land occupation within the protected forest area.
When the request was rejected, the group allegedly dismantled posts and destroyed equipment and other property belonging to the PKH task force, causing estimated state losses of around Rp 50 million.
Presiding judge Jonson Parancis said the defendants were “legally and convincingly proven” to have jointly committed public vandalism under Article 170 of the Criminal Code.
