Verdict Fails to Present Sense of Justice

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Security Officer Suko Sutrisno knelt and prayed to give thanks after the verdict given to him in the Kanjuruhan Tragedy case at the Surabaya District Court (PN), East Java, Thursday (9/3/2023). Chief Judge Abu Achmad Sidqi Amsya sentenced Abdul Haris to 1 year and 6 months and Suko Sutrisno to 1 year in prison. The sentence was lighter than the prosecutor's demands, namely 6 years and 8 months in prison.

SURABAYA, KOMPAS — The verdict of the panel of judges of the Surabaya District Court, East Java, to the two defendants of the Kanjuruhan tragedy, namely the former chairman of the Implementing Committee of Arema FC, Abdul Haris, and the former club security officer, Suko Sutrisno, has failed to present a sense of justice for the 135 death tolls of the tragedy, critics say. Nevertheless, the sentence can at least set a positive precedent of the involvement of state law in criminal cases in the realm of sports, especially soccer.

In a hearing on Thursday (9/3/2023), presiding judge Abu Achmad Sidqi, along with members of the panel of judges, Mangapul and I Ketut Kimiarsa, considered the two defendants to be negligent, causing 135 people to die and 674 others to be injured after watching the soccer match between Arema and Persebaya Surabaya on 1 October 2022 at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang.

"Sentencing the defendant Abdul Haris for one year and six months in prison," Achmad said, reading the verdict of the case yesterday.

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Meanwhile, Suko was sentenced to one year in prison. Their punishment is lower than the demands of the public prosecutor, namely six years and eight months inprisonment.

The lower sentence was given by the panel of judges considering two things. First, they had never served a criminal sentence before. Second, the defendants also helped the injured victims in the stadium when the tragedy occurred.

In addition, the panel of judges also considered Abdul's efforts to continue the police's request to advance the match schedule were considered an action that alleviated his sentence. However, the request was not fulfilled by PT Liga Indonesia Baru as the operator of BRI Liga 1 Indonesia in the 2022-2023 season.

ISTIMEWA

Riots inside the Kanjuruhan station after the Arema vs Persebaya Surabaya football match, October 1 2022, at the Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang.

Anton Sanjoyo, a member of the Joint Independent Fact Finding Team (TGIPF) of the Kanjuruhan tragedy, believed that the verdict against Abdul and Suko, in one of the worst tragedies in world soccer, did not provide a sense of justice for the families of victims. The legal process of the Kanjuruhan tragedy, according to him, was not carried out optimally according to the recommendations given by the TGIPF.

"The verdict is a picture of the lack of seriousness in carrying out the legal process to provide a sense of justice for the victims and their families. In our opinion, the people at PSSI [Soccer Association of Indonesia] should also not be separated from mistakes because it was their inability to provide guidelines that caused Haris and Suko to make mistakes," Anton explained.

Eko Noer Kristiyanto, an observer of sports law, assessed that the verdict against Abdul and Suko set a precedent that criminal events in soccer could be processed through the domain of state law. As a result, the punishment now does not only come from the internal scope of soccer, namely the PSSI Disciplinary Committee (Komdis).

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Previously, PSSI Komdis gave life sentences for activities in soccer to Abdul and Suko. The decision was announced on 4 October 2022.

Referring to the number of fatalities, the Kanjuruhan tragedy is the second-largest deadly incident in soccer after the Peru National Stadium tragedy on 24 May 1964. The defendant in the case, Jorge Azambuja, was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

The police commander in Peru was proven to have ordered tear gas shooting toward the mass of supporters after the match between Peru versus Argentina in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics qualification. A total of 328 people were killed in the tragedy.

Regarding the Kanjuruhan case, there are three other defendants who are now waiting for their verdict, namely Adj. Comr. Hasdarmawan, Comr. Wahyu Setyo Pranoto and Adj. Comr. B Sidik Achmadi.

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.