Kanjuruhan Stadium tragedy: Football fans demand answers

It's been a year since one of the worst-ever disasters in football.

Including victims' families who are demanding justice, a few hundred people took part in a vigil outside the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, Indonesia, to commemorate the 135 supporters killed after the October 1, 2022, derby between rivals Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya. Others took to the streets to peacefully protest, holding up posters with the faces of lost loved ones.

After the game, Arema FC fans rushed onto the pitch, a common occurrence after games in Indonesia. Portuguese centerback Sergio Silva, then at Arema FC, told Portuguese sports newspaper A Bola that the fans looked like they wanted to "show support rather than attack."

Police tried to push them back with tear gas and batons, resulting in bottlenecks and a mass panic. More than 400 people were left injured, and the list of deaths included children, one as young as three years old.

Police responsible, families seek justice

According to Indonesia's National Commission on Human Rights, police's indiscriminate use of tear gas was the main cause for the disaster, with the organization's chief calling for "legal responsibility." According to the stadium regulations issued by football's global governing body, FIFA, the use of firearms or crowd control gas is prohibited.

Two Indonesian officials and three police officers stood trial and were found guilty, with the jail terms ranging from one year to two and a half.

Despite that, many of the victims' family members feel that the measures taken by the country's government, police and courts did not go far enough.

Sumiarsih, also goes by the name Bu Cece, lost her teenage son during the tragedy. He told DW that many families of the victim still have yet to receive justice for the death of their love ones.

"When it comes to justice, we haven't received it until now because we were never informed before the trials," Sumiarsih told DW. 

"Suddenly there's already the result [of the trials]. There has been no transparency and information on the schedule of the trials. Even if we can't go there [to the court], we would like to be informed about it. If we were told, we at least would have felt relieved."

Sumiarsih also asked about compensation that the victim's family is entitled to, adding that she and some other victim's families are being ping-ponged when asking about it.

Devi Athok lost his two teenage daughters in the disaster. According to the Indonesian man, the police didn't tell the truth about the reasons for its measures, arguing it was because of fights between fans.

"This is a public lie. We are being fooled," he told AP.

"If you ask if I have sincerely accepted what happened, yes, I sincerely do. They are dead, they won't come back. But under the law, I seek justice against the killer of my two daughters."

Supporters voice discontent

Many supporters, too, feel not enough has been done in the year since  the disaster. In an open letter, former Arema FC fan collective Arek Malang said that a "fair trial" had still not taken place.

"The high-ranking police officers who gave the orders to shoot tear gas remain free," the group wrote on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, adding that no association or league official has stood trial, either.

The group believes Arema FC, too, should also be held to account. The group, formerly known as Aremania due to their support of the club, "removed all forms of support" due to its handling of the disaster's aftermath.

"Police violence towards football fans must end," the group's open letter concludes.

The group has also called for other fan and ultra groups from around the world to raise awareness for the disaster, and show solidarity with the victims. Many have answered their calls, including two ultra groups from Germany, Stuttgart's Commando Cannstatt, and Carl Zeiss Jena's Horda Azzuro. 

The situation in Germany

Football games in Germany are statistically safe — only 1,127 injuries were recorded out of almost 19 million stadium visits in 2018 and 2019, the last season ahead of the pandemic  — but research published by the German Research Foundation (DFG) in May, showed that almost a quarter of those asked said they were subjected to police violence in the context of football games.

As a result of their experiences, many of Germany's supporters established legal aid collectives to provide assistance to anyone needing it upon facing the law, and making official complaints in cases of an exaggerated use of force by police.

In Indonesia, such football collectives do not appear to be present, although the country's Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) condemned the police's use of force.

The Kanjuruhan Stadium is set to be torn down, but for those in mourning a year on from the tragedy, justice remains elusive.

Additional reporting by Arti Ekawati

Edited by: Jonathan Harding