Indonesia’s Supreme Court on August 5 upheld the acquittal of Misran Toni, an Indigenous Dayak farmer known as Imis, who was participating in a coal mining protest and charged with stabbing other protesters in East Kalimantan.
The case has its roots in the coal mining in Kalimantan that has long been linked to concerns about community safety, deforestation, and environmental degradation. For decades, Dayak communities in Kalimantan have opposed the mining projects.
A dispute over the use of public roads to haul coal erupted in Muara Kate village, where as many as 100 coal trucks passed daily. In October 2024, after a truck rolled backward and overturned, killing a young pastor, Dayak villagers, including Imis, protested by setting up a camp to stop the trucks. They alleged that the authorities had failed to enforce regulations restricting coal transportation on village roads.
In November 2024, two villagers sleeping in the protest camp were stabbed at about 4 a.m.; one died while the other was severely wounded. Police alleged that they found blood matching one of the victims on Imis’ shirt and in November 2025 prosecutors charged him with murder and placed him in pretrial detention.
At trial, witnesses, including Imis’ son, testified that Imis was sleeping at home when the stabbing took place. The blood on his shirt could be explained by Imis and his son helping the victims into an ambulance to be rushed to the hospital. Lawyers from the Samarinda Legal Aid Institute who were representing Imis alleged that the East Kalimantan police intimidated witnesses and charged him without a proper investigation.
On April 16, 2026, a district court acquitted Imis and released him from custody. The prosecutors appealed the verdict to the Supreme Court.
Imis in June filed complaints with the National Police’s internal branch, the Ministry of Human Rights, the National Commission on Human Rights, and the National Police Commission. “I’m very disappointed,” he said. “I’ve spent nine months in police detention.”
Misran Toni was released from custody and ultimately exonerated. But the case highlights the risks faced both by communities affected by coal mining and the environmental and Indigenous rights defenders who oppose Indonesia’s coal industry.
