The Government Files An Appeal For The Air Pollution Decision In The Capital City

Illustration (Photo: Aditya Pradana Putra/Antara)

JAKARTA - The government has filed an appeal against the decision of the judges of the Central Jakarta District Court regarding air pollution in the capital city.

The Plaintiff's attorney, Ayu Eza Tiara, said that the appeal had been submitted on Thursday, September 30, or the last day of the appeal period.

"The period for filing an appeal is 14 days after the verdict was read and the last one was yesterday", Ayu said in Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Friday, October 1.

The government, in this case, consists of President Joko Widodo, related ministers, and the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan.

"It is confirmed that the President and his ministers have officially stated that they are appealing and have filled out an appeal form", said Ayu.

The plaintiffs, in this case, were disappointed with the government's decision to appeal.

One of the plaintiffs, Adhito Harinugroho, believes that the government should have an obligation to provide clean air, especially to the citizens of Jakarta.

The Court's order for the government to make improvements to provide clean air is in the interest of the whole community. "That is also in the interests of President Jokowi", said Adhito.

The decision on air pollution stems from a lawsuit filed by 32 residents at the Central Jakarta District Court on July 4, 2019.

Then on Thursday, September 16, the panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court granted the residents' claim and found five state officials guilty of air pollution in the capital city.

The five officials are the President of the Republic of Indonesia, the Minister of Environment and Forestry, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Home Affairs, and the Governor of DKI Jakarta Province.

"Declaring that Defendant I, Defendant II, Defendant III, Defendant IV, and Defendant V have committed acts against the law", said Chief Justice Saifuddin Zuhri.

In their consideration, the panel of judges stated that the defendants had known that the air in DKI Jakarta was polluted for years. However, the stakeholders did not issue much policy to improve it.

The panel of judges convicted the five officials to take several steps to improve air quality in Jakarta.

Unlike President Jokowi and his ministers, DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan from the outset stated that he would not file an appeal and would implement the court's decision.