Responding to the arbitrary arrest of two activists in Semarang, Adetya Pramandira and Fathul Munif, Amnesty International Indonesia's Executive Director Usman Hamid said:
"These arrests demonstrate that the narrative of National Police (Polri) reform, which it is said the President is accelerating, is just a fabrication. This is evidence of the continued criminalisation of activists following the August 2025 demonstrations. We strongly condemn these authoritarian practices.
These arrests also confirm concerns regarding the potential for arbitrary actions by law enforcement officials, particularly given the loose provisions of the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE) Law and the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) recently passed by the House of Representatives (DPR). Anyone can be arrested without clear procedures.
The state should conduct a serious evaluation of the security measures taken during demonstrations as well as investigate and prosecute all cases of excessive force that have killed and injured citizens through unnecessary violence, from beatings to the use of a tactical vehicle to run over and kill online delivery driver Affan Kurniawan in August. The President and the DPR must stop looking for scapegoats to blame for their failure to handle the demonstrations last August.
We urge the National Police Chief (Kapolri), the Central Java Regional Police Chief (Kapolda) and the Semarang Metropolitan District Police Chief (Kapolrestabes) to release and halt the legal proceedings against Pramandira and Munif. This case must be stopped. Amnesty International Indonesia also urges the government to release all activists detained and tried following the August demonstrations simply for peacefully speaking out.
The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) and the Indonesian Ombudsman also need to actively push for the release and halt of legal proceedings against Pramandira and Munif, as well as the 12 other activists being held by the police since late August.
Amnesty International Indonesia urges the President and the DPR to stop all criminalisation of activists and guarantee the right of every citizen to demonstrate and express their opinions peacefully, both on the streets and in the digital realm.
We also continue to urge the formation of a Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF) to thoroughly investigate the deaths of Kurniawan and 11 others during the August demonstrations. All levels of government, including the police, must disclose as fully as possible any information regarding the progress into the investigation into the deaths of these 12 people. A criminal investigation must be conducted to investigate their deaths."
Background
The Semarang Metropolitan District Police (Polrestabes) arbitrarily arrested Adetya Pramandira (a Central Java Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) staff member) and Fathul Munif (a Semarang Aksi Kamisan, (Thursday Action) activist on Thursday November 27 at 6.45 am local time in Semarang, Central Java. Without relevant evidence and due legal procedure, the police arrested the pair and accused them of incitement during the August demonstrations.
Based on credible information received by Amnesty International, the two were accused on baseless charges and were never summoned as witnesses first. The police charged them under Article 45A Paragraph 2 in conjunction with Article 28 Paragraph 2 of the ITE Law on hate speech and Article 160 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on incitement.
According to information received by Amnesty International, Pramandira travelled from Jakarta to Semarang that same day after accompanying residents from Sumberejo and Dayunan villages to report an incident of alleged criminalisation to Komnas HAM, Komnas Perempuan and the Environment and Forestry Ministry Law Enforcement Agency (Gakkum) in Jakarta.
At 2.30 am local time Pramandira arrived at the Central Java Walhi offices and waited for the arrival of Munif. They then left the Walhi offices together at 3.37 am before being arbitrarily arrested by 24 police officers at 6.45 am.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Bebaskan aktivis Adetya Pramandira dan Fathul Munif yang ditangkap di Semarang".]
