Botok and Teguh Pati Activists Convicted, Immediately Released

Two activists, Supriyono alias Botok and Teguh Istiyanto, attended the hearing with the agenda of the verdict held at the Pati District Court, Central Java, Thursday (5/3/2026). (ANTARA/Akhmad Nazaruddin Lathif)

Pati District Court, Central Java, has sentenced two activists, Supriyono alias Botok and Teguh Istiyanto, to be guilty in the alleged incitement case related to the demonstration action demanding the resignation of the former Pati Regent Sudewo.

In the verdict hearing held at the Cakra Room of the Pati District Court, Thursday, March 5, the panel of judges stated that the two defendants were proven to have violated Article 160 of the Criminal Code as reformed in Article 246 of the National Criminal Code regarding incitement.

"The defendants, Supriyono alias Botok and Teguh Istiyanto, were found guilty of committing a crime together in public," said Presiding Judge Muhammad Fauzan when reading the verdict, reported by ANTARA, Thursday, March 5.

The panel of judges sentenced each of them to six months in prison. However, the sentence does not need to be served with the provision that the defendants do not commit other crimes during the period of supervision.

The panel of judges also ordered that the two defendants be immediately released from detention after the verdict was read and returned all evidence to the rightful parties.

The verdict was also attended by a number of figures and activists, including the founder of the Positive Movement and activist of the Gusdurian network, Inayah Wulandari Wahid, retired Deputy Chief of the Indonesian National Police, Inspector General of Police (Ret.) Oegroseno, who is a Pati local, Surabaya-based lawyer M. Sholeh, and Chairman of the BEM of Gadjah Mada University, Tiyo Ardianto.

In addition, thousands of residents also attended the court with various banners and posters containing demands for the release of the two activists.

The lawyer for the two defendants, Nimerodin Gulo, said he was grateful that the trial, which took place from December 2025 to early March 2026, was finally completed at the district court level.

He said his client was found guilty, but did not have to serve a prison sentence because he was sentenced to probation so the two were immediately released after the verdict was read.

"However, we actually strongly object to this decision because we think it is a very strong signal for activists not to demonstrate," he said.

According to him, the decision was also considered to have injured the democratic process because the panel of judges considered the actions of the two defendants as incitement to commit a crime in the form of blocking the road.

He assessed that the panel of judges did not consider the provisions in the new article 256 of the Criminal Code which regulates demonstrations only requiring notification to the authorities, not a permit.

In this article, he said, a new demonstration can be sentenced if there is no notification and causes consequences such as accidents, damage, injured victims, or death. Therefore, when there are no consequences, it cannot be categorized as a criminal offense.

Therefore, he will negotiate the next legal steps with his legal team even though the verdict was in the form of a supervision sentence and the two defendants were released from detention.