In a rare move in Indonesia, the administrative court earlier this year overturned a local government order to allow churches to vacate places of worship, sources said.
The John Ban Regency government in East Java sued the ruling of the Surabaya Administrative Court on March 19th. This has led to the owner of the Sinpantiga Shop Housing Complex in John Bang to vacate the facility, including the pastor of Good God Church and his wife Lilyksonaruto.
When the couple’s shophouse church in the complex was forced to close on August 18, 2024, around 50 John Van Regency officials dragged pastor Helly out of the place of worship and sealed the place where his church met, he said last year on a podcast.
The sealing of places of worship was part of the local government’s efforts to reclaim some shops they claim to own. The complex is located in John Bang, about 50 miles west of Surabaya, the capital of East Java.
According to KBRN Radio, the three judge panel reversed the order in a statement that defence challenges against the Shophoue owner’s lawsuit are unacceptable.
“We are very grateful for the verdict,” said Sonny Saragi, president of Hopes at the Institute of Legal Aid, which represents the church, reportedly. “The judges are wise to think of it, and this is a step forward in supporting good governance.”
Local government attorney Yaumassyifa said on March 27 that officials will file an appeal, according to Kredonews.com.
Yaumassyifa said the property legally belongs to the Jombang Regency government. A spokesman for Suhartono of Jombang’s Alliance of Non-Governmental Organizations said he was surprised by the verdict, Kredonews.com reported.
“We believe the eviction letter is correct because the residents are not fulfilling their obligation to obey,” Suhartono said, adding that he doubted the judge’s ability. “The shophouse is on land owned by the John Van Regency government. Residents don’t want to pay rent, so it’s right to kick them out.”
Suhartono said he would report the case to the Judiciary Committee and the Corruption Elimination Committee.
Hadi S. Purwanto, an activist close to the Jombang Regency government, agreed that residents would not pay rent.
“That’s purely because Pastor Heli Sausant, as a tenant, doesn’t pay rent to local governments. That has nothing to do with the church,” Haddy tells Morningstar News, explaining that not only will the first floor of the store be used as a store and the second floor be used as a church, but that Pastor Heli currently runs a business in the complex.
Pastor Heli filed a lawsuit against the Jongbang government on November 27th, but lost the case and later revised it in Surabaya Administrative Court to win.
The pastor claims it is the owner of the store, not the tenant, his former lawyer, Sri Sugen Pujatomiko.
“Heli Sosanto bought it, he bought it from a company that gained control from the government,” Pujatomiko said. “He says he has legal rights.”
However, local government sources said that private companies have worked with local governments to build Shophouse Complex and can charge rent.
“Residents argued that the stores they occupy were purchased from the PT (company) and were unrelated to the rent set by the local government,” the source told jatimnews.com.
Pastor Heli said he didn’t have to pay rent because he bought a shophouse from a private company.
“The developers didn’t tell me anything about this scheme,” he added that there is a 2016 building rights certificate that continued to be used despite it expired in 2016, as it is common for payments to be postponed legality in Indonesia.
The church attempted to extend the validity of the building’s right to use certificate, but authorities denied it and requested that the rent be paid and rented it, he said.
“In 2022, local governments asked buyers to pay rent between 2016 and 2021, paying 19,105,000 rupiah ($1,228) a year,” he said.
Therefore, the church purchased property and paid land and building taxes without telling them about the arrangement to develop it, he said, but the developers and authorities requested them to pay rent.
