Indonesia football tragedy: victims’ families outraged after court acquits police officers
- Two officers found not guilty on charges of negligence leading to injury and death, while a third officer was sentenced to 18 months in jail
- Victims’ families question fairness of proceedings and whether justice has been served
Families of the 135 victims killed in one of the world’s deadliest sporting stadium disasters have expressed outrage and disappointment after two Indonesian police officers were acquitted over their roles in the incident.
On Thursday, the Surabaya District Court ruled that senior police officers Wahyu Setyo Pranoto and Bambang Sidik Achmadi were not guilty on charges of negligence leading to injury and death after police fired tear gas following a pitch invasion by fans at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang on October 1.
A third officer, Hasdarmawan, was sentenced to 1½ years in prison on the same charges. Prosecutors had sought a three-year jail term for each officer.
The court said Pranoto did not have the authority to order anyone to fire tear gas and therefore could not be found guilty of negligence.
The prosecution had accused Achmadi of ordering his officers to fire the tear gas, but the court ruled that as tear gas had only been released on the pitch and not into the stands, he could not be held responsible.
“As the element of negligence was not fulfilled, the defendant was not legally and convincingly proved to have committed a crime, so the defendant is acquitted of all charges,” the court said of Achmadi.
However, that reasoning did not sit well with victims’ families, who questioned whether justice had been served.
