Nabiila Azzahra, Jakarta – Dozens of people held a tahlil (prayer) event to commemorate the 1,000th day of the Kanjuruhan Tragedy near the National Police Headquarters on Friday night, June 27, 2025. They lit 135 candles to represent the number of casualties in the crowd crush incident at Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang Regency.
The event was initially planned to take place right in front of the National Police Headquarters. However, the mass was not permitted to hold the rally there. "We initially wanted to hold it in front of the National Police Headquarters gate, but it was not allowed. They said it was already regulated," said Vebrina Monicha, a representative of the Justice for Tragedy 135 (JFT135) community, which organized the event.
The symbolic action began with the lighting of candles and the distribution of the Surah Yaseen book. Roy Murtadho, the chairman of the Green Party, led the tahlil and joint prayer.
Bambang Lesmono, a 52-year-old resident of Malang, also attended the event. His daughter, Putri Lestari, passed away at the age of 21 in the Kanjuruhan Tragedy. He spoke to the police before the rally and handed over the Surah Yaseen book to one of the officers on duty.
"This is my first time visiting the capital. To seek genuine justice," said Bambang. "Why did I come here? Because things are not going well in Malang, Sir. There's no justice, Sir."
The rally continued with participants reading an essay about the Kanjuruhan tragedy. Journalist Zen RS wrote an essay mentioning the names of the 135 victims. Then, the peaceful rally concluded with the laying of flowers around the hundreds of still-lit candles.
According to Tempo's observation at the location, approximately 50 people were present to commemorate the 1,000 days of the Kanjuruhan Tragedy.
Vebrina said that the victims' families demanded to classify the Kanjuruhan Tragedy as a grave violation of human rights. They urged the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) to conduct a pro justitia investigation into the case.
They requested that Komnas HAM, which is authorized to conduct an investigation and prosecution of the Kanjuruhan Tragedy, proceed with the case to the prosecutor's office without going through the police first. "Because the police were deemed negligent in carrying out their duties," said Vebrina.
They believe that the police need not be involved in the process of this case, let alone conduct an investigation and prosecution. It was the police who initially fired tear gas at the spectators at Kanjuruhan Stadium.
"For the victims' families, that is not fair. There must be a conflict of interest, and we see that the trial was indeed set up to fail from the beginning," said Vebrina.
The Kanjuruhan Tragedy occurred three years ago. Specifically, on Saturday, October 1, 2022, after the BRI League 1 Indonesia match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang Regency, East Java.
The commotion began when the spectators stormed the field. In response, the police fired tear gas, causing the spectators to panic. As a result, 135 people died, 96 suffered severe injuries, and 484 suffered minor injuries because of the tragedy.