An Indonesian court has acquitted two policemen charged over the Kanjuruhan stadium crush last year, angering relatives of victims in the tragedy.
Police had been blamed for triggering the crush that night after firing tear gas at spectators on the field.
That led to a stampede that killed 135 people – the second deadliest football disaster in history.
Devastated families in the courtroom on Thursday erupted in anger and disbelief following the verdict.
A woman whose teenage son was killed in the crush said: “Many people have died, how come they are now free?”
Susiani had clutched a photograph of her 16-year-old son throughout the court hearing. She looked shattered when the verdict was read out.
The court sentenced one officer to 18 months prison for criminal negligence, but found two other senior policemen not guilty of the same charges.
One commander, Bambang Sidik Achmadi, had been accused of ordering his police unit to fire tear gas at match attendees. But the local court in East Java found that such charges “had not been proven”.
