Indonesia puts four soldiers on trial over acid attack on activist

Military prosecutors person charged 4 radical successful the onslaught that burned one-fifth of activistic Andrie Yunus’s body.

A proceedings has opened successful a subject tribunal successful Jakarta for 4 Indonesian soldiers accused of carrying retired an acerb onslaught connected an activistic who campaigned against the enlargement of the relation of the equipped forces successful government.

Military prosecutors charged the group, including Edi Sudarko, Budi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono, Nandala Dwi Prasetia and Sami Lakka, connected Wednesday with superior meditated assault, which carries a maximum condemnation of 12 years nether Indonesia’s transgression code.

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The defendants, who were represented by military-appointed lawyers, appeared successful tribunal successful fatigues. A defence lawyer for the men told the tribunal they would not quality the indictment, allowing the proceedings to proceed.

The onslaught unfolded connected March 12, erstwhile activistic Andrie Yunus – a ‌deputy coordinator with the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) – was riding a motorbike successful Jakarta. Two men connected different motorbike doused him with acid.

Visitors locomotion past a mural featuring Andrie Yunus, the lawman coordinator of the KontraS rights group, who suffered superior injuries erstwhile 2 men connected a scooter threw acerb astatine him, astatine a Mural Exhibition, ‘From Citizens for Andrie’, successful Jakarta, connected April 27, 2026 [AFP]

Andrie, 27, received burns crossed much than 20 percent of his look and assemblage and was blinded successful 1 eye, according to subject authoritative Mohammad Iswadi.

Although constabulary astatine archetypal identified 2 different suspects based connected CCTV footage, 4 others were yet arrested.

They each worked for the Indonesian military’s Strategic Intelligence Agency, whose main has since resigned, though a crushed was not provided.

Iswadi said the radical was angered implicit Andrie’s activism, but was not moving connected authoritative orders.

At the clip of the attack, Andrie had conscionable finished signaling a podcast, criticising what helium describes arsenic the militarisation of the Indonesian authorities nether President Prabowo Subianto, a erstwhile general.

He had besides protested an amendment ratified by Indonesia’s parliament past year, allowing active-duty subject unit to beryllium appointed to a wider scope of authorities posts, including successful the lawyer general’s office, nationalist catastrophe mitigation and the counterterrorism agency.

Advocacy for Democracy Team (TAUD) members clasp posters successful solidarity with Andrie Yunus successful Jakarta, Indonesia, March 16, 2026 [Willy Kurniawan/Reuters]

Rights groups criticised the determination arsenic boosting subject engagement successful nationalist affairs, perchance starring to abuses of powerfulness and quality rights.

“The suspects deemed Andrie Yunus to person insulted and stomped connected the subject arsenic an institution,” Iswadi said.

The Indonesian quality rights watchdog, Komnas HAM, has separately claimed that astatine slightest 14 radical were linked to the attack.

The incidental “could pb to fearfulness among civilians to criticise authorities officials”, the radical warned.

According to Iswadi, the 4 men planned the onslaught astatine their subject lodgings successful Jakarta.

One of them obtained “rust removal fluid” from a subject store and mixed it with artillery fluid, helium said, earlier the radical went searching for Andrie connected motorbikes.

The adjacent proceeding is scheduled for May 6, erstwhile the prosecution is expected to nutrient witnesses.