Trials for the world's deadliest soccer stadium stampedes, which took the lives of 135 people, has begun at the Indonesia court, a handful of police and match officials have been charged with negligence over the alleged roles in the stampede.
The court in Surabaya has heard the charges against three police officers, a security official and a match organizer. Each of them face a match maximum prison sentence of five years if convicted.
An Indonesian court began trial on Monday for one of the world's deadliest soccer stadium stampedes. A handful of police and match officials have been charged with negligence over their alleged rules.
135 people died in the October disaster at Kendranhan Stadium in Malang, East Java. An investigation by Indonesia's Human Rights Commission found police fired 45 rounds of tear gas into the crowd at the end of the match, causing panic that led to the stampede.
Investigators concluded that excessive and indiscriminate use of tear gas was the main cause of the crush, while locked doors and overcapacity stadium and failure to implement safety procedures exacerbated the death toll.
The disaster prompted widespread questions about safety standards and the use of tear gas, a crowd control measure banned by soccer's global governing body, FIFA. On Monday, the court heard from three police officers, a security official and a match organizer who each face a maximum prison and sentence of five years if convicted.
The father of one of the victims attended court on Monday. He says he hopes that they will be punished to the fullest extent, especially those who use tear gas. Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced after the incident that all league matches would be suspended and that Kanjirohan Stadium would be demolished and rebuilt.
League games have since resumed, but without spectators.
