Two Police Officers Acquitted for Deadly Kanjuruhan Tragedy

The light sentences given to three police officers who were charged for the deadly Kanjuruhan Stadium crush last year. One policeman was sentenced to 18 months in prison, while the other two were acquitted.

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Member of the Malang Resort Police AKP Bambang Sidik Achmadi at the trial of the Kanjuruhan Tragedy Case at the Surabaya District Court (PN), Surabaya, East Java, Thursday (16/3/2023).

SURABAYA, KOMPAS — East Java’s Surabaya District Court acquitted two of three police officers charged with negligence for the deadly Kanjuruhan Stadium stampede during a hearing on Thursday. The court’s verdict in the trial over the country’s worst football tragedy is deemed an offense to the public’s sense of justice.

The two policemen who were acquitted were Adj. Comr. Bambang Sidik Achmadi (former head of the Malang Police’s operations unit) and Comr. Wahyu Setyo Pranoto (former head of the Malang Police’s operations division). Another defendant, Adj. Comr. Hasdarmawan (former head of the East Java Police Mobile Brigade), was sentenced to 18 months in prison.