Indonesia: Acid attack on human rights defender must be tried at civilian court to prevent impunity

Responding to the Indonesian military's move to try four members of the Military's Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) for their roles in an acid attack against human rights activist Andrie Yunus in a military court in Jakarta,

Amnesty International Indonesia's Executive Director Usman Hamid said:

"Today's indictment hearing appears to limit the perpetrators to only four suspects, despite separate investigations recently conducted by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and civil society coalition Advocacy for Democracy Team (TAUD) that both found at least 14 perpetrators involved.

"Under international law, military courts should not have jurisdiction to try members of the military and security forces for human rights violations."

"The military further said that the four defendants acted without orders from their superiors but based on personal revenge against Andrie for actively criticizing the military. Such characterizations reduce state linked violence to a private grievance - a common tactic of impunity designed to protect institutional integrity and shield the full chains of command and other actors potentially linked to this incident from scrutiny.

"Under international law, military courts should not have jurisdiction to try members of the military and security forces for human rights violations. Amnesty International previously documented that military courts in Indonesia often lacked the impartiality, independence and transparency required under international legal standards on fair trial. Trying only these four soldiers in a military court, therefore, risks entrenching impunity rather than delivering meaningful accountability.

"While the current proceedings are limited to the four individual officers, we call on Indonesian authorities to further establish an independent fact-finding team to uncover the truth about the attack and ensure that accountability efforts are not narrowly confined."

"This case must be tried in civilian court to prevent impunity. While the current proceedings are limited to the four individual officers, we call on Indonesian authorities to further establish an independent fact-finding team to uncover the truth about the attack and ensure that accountability efforts are not narrowly confined."

Background

On 29 April 2026, the Jakarta Military court indicted four soldiers for their roles in an acid attack against Andrie Yunus on 12 March 2026. They were charged under the criminal code with serious premeditated assault and face a maximum 12 years behind bars if found guilty.

The case was initially investigated by the police, but the military later took over the investigation, claiming any military members must be tried in a military court.

Andrie Yunus, a dedicated activist from the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), was assaulted with acid by two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle in Jakarta. The attack occurred as he was riding home alone after recording a podcast at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) office regarding remilitarization and judicial review. The court revealed today that the defendants used a mixture of car battery acid and rust remover to attack Andrie Yunus.

Andrie is a vocal advocate against the increasing expansion of military powers and state violence in Indonesia.

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