Indonesia acquits 2 police, jails 1 for deadly soccer crush
An Indonesian court on Thursday 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 third official was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The disaster in Kanjuruhan stadium in East Java’s Malang city was among the world’s worst sporting tragedies.
Some 43 children were among the deaths and about 580 spectators were injured.
A panel of three judges at Surabaya District Court, which was under heavy police guard, absolved police officers Pranoto and Achmadi of charges because they found no direct causal link between the defendants’ actions and the deadly crowd crush.
The two were released Thursday.
Presiding judge Abu Achmad Sidqi Amsya said the court fo...