Ade Ridwan Yandwiputra, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) appreciates the decision of the Central Jakarta District Court judges to acquit Delpedro Marhaen and three other activists in the case of incitement regarding the August 2025 demonstrations.
"Of course, this is a very positive thing and should be appreciated," said ICW Researcher Almas Sjafrina on Friday, March 6, 2026.
According to Almas, the acquittal of Delpedro and his friends proves that the criminalization of activists is an attempt by the government to intimidate so that there will no longer be any critical voices.
"Yes, we see a message behind it, for example, if they want to take to the streets to demonstrate or even simply make posts criticizing the country or state institutions, there will be consequences to face," said Almas.
Although they have been acquitted, Almas continued, Delpedro and his colleagues have already served approximately six months in detention. This means that during that time, their rights were also revoked. "Six months, their rights were taken away even though clearly, when you look at what they did, there was actually no violation," said Almas.
Therefore, Almas hopes that this incident will not be repeated and that the government will become more open to critical voices.
Previously, the panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court declared that the four activists accused of inciting the August 2025 demonstrations were not guilty. The four activists are Delpedro Marhaen, Khariq Anhar, Syahdan Husein, and Muzaffar Salim.
"Declaring defendant I Delpedro Marhaen, defendant II Muzaffar Salim, defendant III Syahdan Husein, and defendant IV Khariq Anhar are not proven guilty of committing criminal acts as accused in the second, third, and fourth alternative allegations of the public prosecutor," said the chief judge, Harika Nova Yeri, on Friday, March 6, 2026.
The audience greeted this decision with such enthusiasm that the judge temporarily paused the reading of the verdict. "Acquitting the defendants of all allegations of the public prosecutor," Judge Harika continued.
Following this decision, the panel of judges ordered the restoration of the rights and dignity of the four activists. "We hope that the prosecutor will not file an appeal, cassation, or any other legal action," said Delpedro after the trial.
– Nabiila Azzahra contributed to the report