Indonesia acquits 2 police, jails 1 for deadly soccer crush

Published March 16, 2023 4:10 am

By TRISNADI MARJAN
Associated Press

SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian court has acquitted two police officials charged with negligence leading to the deaths of 135 people in October when police fired tear gas inside a stadium, setting off a panicked run for the exits. A panel of three judges at Surabaya District Court absolved two policemen of charges Thursday and released them. They say the defendants’ tear gas did not reach spectators, so there is no causal link between them and the crowd crush. A third official has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for criminal negligence because he gave orders to fire tear gas. The disaster in Kanjuruhan stadium in East Java’s Malang city was among the world’s worst sporting tragedies.

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