October 27, 2025 | 09:03 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD) has revealed the chronology of the arrest and naming of an activist named Muzaffar Salim as a suspect. Muzaffar, along with three other activists, has been named a suspect for provocation in the demonstrations at the end of August 2025 in Jakarta.
Muzaffar's legal representative, Nabil Hafizhurrahman, stated that his client was arrested in the rear area of the Directorate of General Crime at Jakarta Metro Police Headquarter on September 2, 2025, while he and other TAUD members were waiting for the examination process of Lokataru Foundation Director Delpedro Marhaen, who had been arrested earlier.
"Suddenly, several individuals claiming to be from Jakarta Metro Police arrived and took Muzaffar, without explaining the reason for the examination," Nabil said during a press conference at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) office in Central Jakarta on Sunday, October 26, 2025.
Based on the testimony of witnesses at the arrest scene, Nabil continued, the police who took Muzaffar did not show any assignment letter or arrest warrant. They did not provide an explanation for Muzaffar's examination or the capacity of his statement.
"We only found out that he was named a suspect after an official announcement and press conference by the Jakarta Metro Police, and he had never received any summons as a witness before," Nabil said.
Nabil stated that the arrest without a warrant violated Article 17 and 18 of the Criminal Code, Article 18 paragraph (2) of the National Police Chief Regulation Number 6 of 2019 on Criminal Investigation Management, Chief of Criminal Investigation Regulation Number 1 of 2022 on the Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) for the Implementation of Criminal Investigation, and Article 9 of the Human Rights Law Number 39 of 1999.
"The unclear suspect designation and arbitrary arrest constitute a dark space for the deprivation of Muzaffar Salim's freedom," Nabil stated.
TAUD has filed a pre-trial lawsuit for the case of Muzaffar Salim and three other activists at the South Jakarta District Court. They requested the judge to grant their request to revoke the suspect designation for Muzaffar Salim, Delpedro Marhaen, Khariq Anhar, and Syahdan Husein, as they believe that the actions taken as part of the investigation by the Jakarta Metropolitan Police were illegitimate.
Muzaffar's pre-trial lawsuit is part of TAUD's effort to test the legitimacy of the arrest of the four activists who were arrested by Jakarta Metropolitan Police at the end of August 2025. They were arrested by the police on charges of provocation during the demonstrations on August 25 and 28, 2025. They and two others were accused of inciting the masses to act violently during the protests.
The six suspects are charged under Article 160 of the Criminal Code and/or Article 45A paragraph (3) jo Article 28 paragraph (3) of Law Number 1 of 2024 regarding Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE Law) and/or Article 76H jo Article 15 jo Article 87 of Law Number 35 of 2014 regarding Child Protection.
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