Two Police Officers Acquitted for Deadly Kanjuruhan Tragedy
The light sentences given to three police officers who were charged for the deadly Kanjuruhan Stadium crush last year. One policeman was sentenced to 18 months in prison, while the other two were acquitted.
By
RUNIK SRI ASTUTI
·4 minutes read
SURABAYA, KOMPAS — East Java’s Surabaya District Court acquitted two of three police officers charged with negligence for the deadly Kanjuruhan Stadium stampede during a hearing on Thursday. The court’s verdict in the trial over the country’s worst football tragedy is deemed an offense to the public’s sense of justice.
The two policemen who were acquitted were Adj. Comr. Bambang Sidik Achmadi (former head of the Malang Police’s operations unit) and Comr. Wahyu Setyo Pranoto (former head of the Malang Police’s operations division). Another defendant, Adj. Comr. Hasdarmawan (former head of the East Java Police Mobile Brigade), was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The verdicts and sentences for their involvement in the incident, which claimed 135 lives, was much lower than the prosecution’s sentence demand of three years for each defendant.
"I am disappointed. My [16-year-old] son, Hendra, was killed [in the incident]," said Susiani, the mother of one of the victims.
She said the sentences handed down by the judicial panel, consisting of Abu Ahmad Sidqi Amsa, Mangapul and I Ketut Kimiarsa, was too light. Susiani also deemed that the verdict over the riot that occurred following the Liga 1 match between home team Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya on 1 Oct. 2022 had shattered her sense of justice.
Last week, the same judicial panel also sentenced Abdul Haris (head of the Arema FC organizing committee) to 18 months in prison. The third defendant, Suko Sutrisno (former Arema security officer), was sentenced to one year in prison.
The Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy is the second worst football incident in the world, after the Peruvian National Stadium Tragedy on 24 May 1964. The defendant in that case, Jorge Azambuja, was sentenced to two years and 6 months in prison.
It was proven that the Peruviain police commander ordered tear gas to be fired into the crowd of supporters after the Peru vs. Argentina match during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers, which led to panic. A total of 328 people were killed in the football tragedy.
As for the trial in Surabaya, the judicial panel stated that Hasdarmawan was guilty of negligence because he ordered that tear gas be fire towards a fence near the stands. This caused spectators in the southern section to panic and try to leave the stadium. They then rushed towards the stadium doors, which were only partially open.
Inevitably, the audience pushed and trampled on each other. In addition to the 135 people who were killed, 24 people were seriously injured and 623 suffered mild injuries. Hasdarmawan was in charge of maintaining security during the match.
The court also revealed that another defendant, Bambang, had ordered two members of the Malang Police's Crowd Control Unit to fire tear gas to disperse the crowd. However, this action had no impact on the spectators’ behavior because the shot was aimed at the middle of the field and the gas was dispersed.
Rehabilitation
The judicial panel determined that Bambang's actions had no causal relationship with the deaths of 135 spectators. So they ruled that Bambang should be acquitted and his good name be restored.
Meanwhile, defendant Wahyu Setyo was also found not guilty of negligence that led to the death or injury of other people. The judicial panel stated that it was not proven Wahyu had ordered Hasdarmawan to fire tear gas, as Wahyu did not have the authority to give orders to Hasdarmawan.
Regarding the decisions for Bambang and Wahyu, we accept the verdict.
Responding to the 18-month prison sentence, Tonic Tankau, Hasdarmwan's lawyer, said his client would take seven days to think about whether to accept the verdict or to appeal. "Regarding the decisions for Bambang and Wahyu, we accept the verdict," he said.
The East Java Prosecutor's Office is yet to decide on the next steps regarding the verdicts for the three defendants. In a previous trial for Abdul and Suko, the prosecutor’s officer has decided to appeal against their verdicts.
This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.