Indonesia court acquits three police officers over deadly stadium stampede

JAKARTA: Lawyers representing victims of a deadly stadium stampede in Indonesia are calling for new charges against police officers deemed responsible for the death of 135 people in one of the world's worst football disasters.

This comes days after an Indonesian district court acquitted two senior police officers while another officer was given an 18 month prison sentence for his involvement in the Oct 1, 2002 incident at Kanjuruhan Stadium in the city of Malang.

The Attorney General's Office has vowed to appeal the verdict. Agung Ketut Sumedana spokesman Agung Ketut Sumedana said on Saturday that the prosecutors would appeal the verdict, and that we will study the legal considerations first. A lawyer representing the families of those who died told CNA that the case was riddled with inconsistencies from the beginning. Our only hope is to get law enforcers to lay new charges against those responsible. Against the wishes of some victims families, prosecutors decided to charge the defendants with negligence which resulted in fatalities.

They should have been charged with murder or even premeditated murder because they were aware of the consequences of their actions, Mr Hidayat said.

The lawyer said he was confident that the defendants could be charged with murder, which carries a much heftier sentence than the current charge of negligence. He said that this would lead to a different outcome.

The three officers were accused of instructing their subordinates to fire tear gas canisters during a football match between Arema Malang and Persebaya Surabaya. The home team lost to their bitter rival that evening, prompting several discontented Arema supporters to invade the pitch.