M. Raihan Muzzaki, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition consisting of YLBHI and KontraS has urged the police to conduct an evaluation following the Kanjuruhan football stadium tragedy. YLBHI Vice Chair Arif Maulana stated that the improvement is necessary to ensure that the police force is not abused against civil society.
"The state is obligated to ensure that cases of human rights violations do not recur," said Arif during a meeting at the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), Central Jakarta, on Monday, June 30, 2025.
He mentioned that this evaluation involves reformation in police policies, the formulation of football regulations, and the mechanism for securing supporters in stadiums. Arif stressed that football spectators in stadiums should be protected as they are consumers.
"This is what we are reminding the Komnas HAM about, that in principle, it has been almost three years since the Kanjuruhan incident, and the 27th of June marked one thousand days since the victims passed away," he said.
In the Kanjuruhan tragedy, 135 Arema supporters died while watching a match in the BRI Liga 1 against Persebaya Surabaya on October 1, 2022. The incident was triggered by the actions of Arema FC supporters who attempted to enter the field after their favorite team's loss.
At that time, the police responded to the supporters by firing tear gas towards the spectator stands at Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang. The tear gas caused panic among the spectators, leading to a stampede as they rushed out of the stadium.
In this case, the East Java Regional Police (Polda Jawa Timur) designated six people as suspects. They were Malang Police Resort's Head of Operations AKP Bambang Sidik Achmadi, East Java Regional Police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) Company Commander AKP Hasdarmawan, and Malang Police Resort's Head of Operations (Kabag Ops) Kompol Wahyu Setyo Pranoto, PT Liga Indonesia Baru (LIB)'s CEO Akhmad Hadian Lukita, the Match Organizing Committee's Abdul Haris, and Security Officer Suko Sutrisno.
Out of the six, only five suspects were prosecuted. Akhmad Hadian Lukita was even released from custody after his detention period expired. The five suspects received light sentences.
The heaviest sentence was given to Bambang Sidik Achmadi, who was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison. This was after the public prosecutor filed a cassation to the Supreme Court after Bambang and Hasdarmawan were acquitted in the first-instance court.