September 22, 2025 | 10:32 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An independent fact-finding team consisting of six national human rights institutions will investigate the treatment of demonstrators and detainees during the August–September 2025 protests in Indonesia's Jakarta.
The team announced on Sunday, September 21, 2025, that it will examine “arrest procedures, access to legal assistance, adequate accommodation for disabilities, treatment of women and children facing the law, allegations of torture, abuse, and other violent acts.”
The investigation will cover seven main elements: the events themselves; planning and deployment of authorities; use of force by state and non-state actors; treatment of demonstrators and detainees; the impact of the events; responses from victims, the public, and law enforcement; and accountability for the incidents that took place.
The team said it is currently working on initial findings from direct field assessments carried out since the first major protest on August 25, 2025.
“Over the next two weeks, the team will conduct further examination,” the statement read. These examinations will include coordination with relevant authorities, on-site visits, consultations with experts and various parties, and analyses of the demonstrations and riots that erupted during August and September 2025.
The six institutions involved in the fact-finding effort are the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), the National Commission on Disability (KND), and the Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia (ORI).
The team was formed in response to a wave of large-scale demonstrations across the country that began on August 25, 2025, with protesters criticizing the performance of the House of Representatives and the allowances received by its members.
Protests in Jakarta escalated on Thursday, August 28, 2025, when a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) tactical vehicle ran over online motorcycle taxi driver Affan Kurniawan, killing him.
Affan’s death ignited public anger. Between that night and August 31, several public facilities, police stations, and regional legislative council offices in Jakarta and other areas were set on fire.
The unrest resulted in the deaths of at least ten civilians, while police named hundreds of people from various regions as suspects.
On Friday, September 12, 2025, the six human rights institutions formally announced the establishment of the independent fact-finding team. The team will assess the broader impact of the protests and riots, including loss of life, injuries, psychological trauma, social and economic damages, and destruction of public property.
According to Komnas HAM, the formation of this independent team is intended to ensure that “the truth is not hidden, the victims are not forgotten, and allegations of human rights violations are not repeated.”
The commission urged the government, law enforcement agencies, and all stakeholders to “open access, provide protection, and fully support the team’s work for the sake of upholding truth and justice.”
“We, from the six institutions, have jointly decided to form an independent team of national human rights institutions for fact-finding in the events of the protests and riots in August–September 2025,” said Chairperson of the National Commission on Human Rights Anis Hidayah at their office in Jakarta on Friday, September 12, 2025.
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