A court in the Indonesian city of Surabaya The trial of five accused of negligence during riots at a football stadium, which left more than 135 dead and half a thousand injured after a match in October, began on Monday.
The trial, whose duration is uncertain, began today in the court of Surabayain the province of East Javaamid heightened security to prevent possible protests, the court also limited the number of attendees and journalists, while banning real-time transmission of the session.
According to documents attached to the process, the five defendants, including three police officers, will be tried for alleged negligence in the events of October 1, when a crowd of people stormed the field during a match held at the stadium. austerity from the city of Unfortunately and clashed with security forces, who responded with tear gas canisters and caused panic.
The violent response sparked a mass stampede that resulted in approximately 137 deaths, including more than 30 children, and more than 460 injuries, in what is considered one of the worst tragedies in world soccer history.
The five accused of their alleged responsibility in the chaotic reaction to the invasion of the pitch are the president of the organizing committee of the Arema club, Abdulharis; the head of stadium security, Suko Sutrisno; the commander of a Mobile Brigade of the East Java Police, hasdarmawan; Chief Operations Section of the Malang Police, Wahyu Setyo Pranotoand the Chief of Police of Malang, Bambang Sidik Achmadi.
The accused testified before the court via teleconference and it is expected that the trial, where about 140 witnesses are also to be heard, will be held in a “marathon” format, with hearings scheduled by three times a week.
After the tragedy of Unfortunatelythat the images of terrorism went all over the world, the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodoannounced the creation of an independent commission to determine those responsible for the fatal outcome and to find out the actions of the police.
Within the framework of the investigations, the authorities have already identified a series of mistakes by the police forces in the celebration of the match, which was played between the local team. Arema and the guest Persebaya Surabayasuch as the partial closure of some of the exits and other stadium security failures that have not been resolved since 2020.
They also pointed out that many of the victims died of suffocation and fractures when they tried to escape due to the large crowd that occurred after the tear gas was launched, which was pointed out by Indonesian National Human Rights Commission as the main trigger of the stampede.
The tragedy also led to the creation of a joint working group between the Indonesian government and the FIFA to improve security measures in stadiums, at a time when the Asian country is preparing to host the U-20 World Cup, which will be held between May and June.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
