Skeletons found in Jakarta building identified as missing protesters from August unrest

Authorities in Jakarta have confirmed that two human skeletons found in a fire-damaged office building are the remains of protesters reported missing during the city’s late-August unrest.

The Indonesian National Police’s forensic division identified the victims as Reno Syahputra Dewo, aged 24, and Muhammad Farhan Hamid, aged 23, both last seen on 29 August 2025 in the Kwitang district of Central Jakarta.

The remains were uncovered on 30 October 2025 by workers renovating the Astra Credit Companies (ACC) building in Senen. The four-storey structure had been gutted by fire during the protests that erupted following the death of a motorcycle-taxi driver in police custody.

Brigadier General Sumy Hastry Purwanti of the Polri Forensic Laboratory said the remains were incomplete but showed no evidence of blunt-force injuries. One victim likely died from fire and smoke inhalation, though the cause of death for the other remains undetermined.

Police Commissioner Budi Hermanto of Metro Jaya Police stated that there was no indication of murder, explaining that the two were “trapped in the building that caught fire during the riots.”

Both men had been listed among dozens of missing persons after the August protests, which saw clashes between demonstrators and security forces across the capital. Families of the two men filed reports shortly after they failed to return home, sparking weeks of appeals from human rights groups.

Human rights organisation KontraS (Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence) had earlier pressed the government to intensify the search for Reno and Farhan. In a letter published on its official website on 29 September 2025, KontraS urged authorities to conduct a comprehensive search across all protest-affected areas and criticised the “slow and inconsistent” pace of the investigation. The group warned that prolonged delays risked erasing crucial evidence and undermining public trust in the government’s commitment to accountability.

Following the discovery of the skeletons, KontraS welcomed the identification but questioned the delayed finding, noting that authorities had previously examined the site. The organisation called for a transparent investigation into whether the remains had been overlooked or displaced during the initial police assessment.

Forensic teams are continuing to study debris from the site and review available CCTV footage, much of which was destroyed by the blaze. Investigators are also analysing how the men entered the building and whether they sought shelter or became trapped when the fire spread.

The case has revived debate over police crowd-control tactics and the fate of protesters still unaccounted for after the unrest. While official records show most missing individuals have since been located, at least a few cases — including Reno and Farhan’s before the discovery — remained unresolved.

For the families, confirmation of the identities brings limited closure but few answers. “We accept the result, but we still want to know how they ended up there,” a relative of one victim told local media.

Authorities have said a full report will be released once forensic work concludes. Meanwhile, rights advocates continue to call for an independent review into both the August clashes and the handling of missing-person cases linked to them.