The Jakarta State Administrative Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Culture Minister Fadli Zon over controversial remarks in which he denied the occurrence of mass rapes during the 1998 riots.
The ruling, delivered on April 21 by an all-women panel of judges, found in favour of the minister. The court upheld an objection regarding its jurisdiction, concluding that the bench lacked the legal authority to adjudicate the case.
While the court ordered the plaintiffs to pay trial costs of 233,000 rupiah, the case tracking system did not provide detailed reasons for the dismissal. The legal challenge followed statements made by the minister in June 2025, where he characterized reports of mass rapes against Chinese Indonesian women as rumours and claimed there was a lack of official proof.
Plaintiffs challenge historical denial
The lawsuit was initiated in October 2025 by seven plaintiffs, including former attorney-general Marzuki Darusman and Ita Fatia Nadia. Nadia is the mother of Kusmiyati, one of the victims of the May 1998 violence that claimed over 1,000 lives and saw widespread attacks on the Chinese Indonesian community.
The plaintiffs sought a formal retraction and an apology, arguing that the minister’s conduct was unlawful. They contended that his denial contradicted the findings of a government-sanctioned fact-finding team established in 1998, which documented 85 victims of sexual violence, the majority of whom were Chinese Indonesian.
Furthermore, a 2003 investigation by the National Commission on Human Rights had previously classified the riots as gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity. Despite these findings, the perpetrators of the tragedy remain unidentified nearly thirty years later.
Concerns over culture of impunity
Following the court’s decision, the plaintiffs held a press conference on April 22 to express their deep disappointment. They described the ruling as a significant setback that risks reinforcing a culture of impunity and deepening the trauma of survivors.
Marzuki Darusman, who chaired the original 1998 fact-finding team, warned that the ruling represents a dark chapter for those pursuing justice. He asserted that the minister’s denial was fundamentally inconsistent with documented patterns of widespread sexual violence archived within government records.
Ita Fatia Nadia echoed these sentiments, stressing that the court’s refusal to recognize documented evidence only strengthens the cycle of impunity. She argued that negating historical facts enables the possibility of similar abuses occurring in the future.
Legal team prepares for appeal
Arif Maulana of the Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation criticized the administrative court for failing in its oversight role regarding government actions. He argued that the court should have addressed the substance of the case, particularly when a public official is seen as distorting historical facts.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Daniel Winarta, confirmed that they intend to file an appeal with the Jakarta State Administrative High Court. The legal team maintains that the case falls clearly under the court’s jurisdiction and should not have been dismissed on procedural grounds.
The ongoing legal battle continues to highlight the sensitivities surrounding Indonesia’s historical record and the long-standing quest for accountability regarding the events that led to the fall of the Suharto administration.
