Responding to the rearrest of an activist who had only just been released from detention in Bandung, West Java, Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid said:
"Arresting and detaining someone on the day of their release after serving a prison term is an action that violates the principles of social justice. The police's actions also have the potential to violate the principle of ne bis in idem from a criminal law perspective, which asserts that a person cannot be tried more than once for the same crime.
Muhammad Ainun Komarullah (Komar) has already served a prison term in an incitement case related to the August 2025 protests in Bandung. However, he now has to undergo similar legal proceedings on charges of incitement related to the August protests in Surabaya, East Java.
The government and law enforcement officials should no longer use problematic accusations such as 'incitement' following the recent not guilty verdict for activists Delpedro Marhaen, Muzaffar Salim, Syahdan Husein and Khariq Anhar handed down by the Central Jakarta District Court. This acquittal has shattered the narrative of incitement promoted by the government regarding the August 2025 protests.
Moreover, following the acquittal, Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, asked the prosecutors in the case not to look for reasons to challenge the acquittal. These instructions should also apply to the police.
Therefore, we regret the repeat of an investigation into alleged 'incitement' against Komar conducted by the police.
After completing his prison sentence in Bandung, Komar was not even given the opportunity to embrace his waiting family. He was immediately arrested by the authorities related to a second stage transfer the Tanjung Perak Surabaya District Prosecutor's Office regarding alleged incitement that led to riots in Surabaya during the August 2025 protests.
"We ask the police not to use legal instruments arbitrarily to repress critical voices and to respect the right to a fair trial. The law should be protector of human dignity, not a state tool to perpetuate the silencing of critical voices."
For the sake of upholding justice and respect for human rights, law enforcement officials in Surabaya must stop this repressive action and immediately release Komar and all activists accused of committing acts of incitement related to the August 2025 demonstration."
Background
Information from the Bandung Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Bandung) revealed that police from the Surabaya Metropolitan District Police (Polrestabes) arrested a student, Muhammad Ainun Komarullah, on Monday afternoon, March 9. Yet the activist, who is known by his friend as Komar, had only just enjoyed free air that day after serving a prison sentence in Bandung.
Previously, the panel of judges at the Bandung District Court at a hearing on February 12 sentenced Komar to six months in prison minus time served in detention.
The panel of judges declared that through his posts, Komar, who manages the Instagram account @blackbloczone, was guilty of violating article 28 paragraph 2 in conjunction with article 45a paragraph 2 of the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law in an incitement case related to riots at the West Java Regional Representatives Council (DPRD) building complex in August 2025.
Shortly after leaving the Kebon Waru Detention Centre in Bandung, Komar was immediately approached by a team of officers from the Surabaya Metropolitan District Police who brought an arrest warrant and a second stage transfer to the Tanjung Perak District Prosecutor's Office. On October 10 Komar was declared a suspect, but since then there has been no information regarding the continuation of his case in Surabaya.
Komar, in connection with the same Instagram account, was charged with the same articles he was indicted under at the Bandung District Court, namely article 28 paragraph 2 in conjunction with article 45a paragraph 2 of the ITE Law on incitement in Surabaya in August 2025. Komar was even charged with an additional article, namely 45a paragraph 3 of the ITE Law.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Penangkapan kembali aktivis di Bandung setelah bebas melanggar asas keadilan".]
