The International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) has\nstrongly condemned the caustic soda attack against Andrie Yunus, Deputy\nCoordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of\nViolence (Kontras), by unknown assailants.<\/p>\n
INFID\u2019s Executive Director Siti Khoirun Nikmah stated that the attack\nconstitutes not an ordinary crime but a genuine threat to democracy and\nan attempt to silence critical voices of human rights defenders in\nIndonesia. INFID suspects the assault is part of a pattern of\nintimidation directed at human rights advocacy work.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo personal belongings of the victim were stolen, so there is strong\nevidence that this attack was motivated by intimidation related to the\nhuman rights work carried out by the victim,\u201d Siti said in a written\nstatement on 13 March 2026.<\/p>\n
This is particularly significant given that Andrie Yunus had already\nexperienced a series of intimidation and threats following the \u201cFairmont\nSit-in\u201d by a civil society coalition protesting a parliamentary\ncommittee hearing on military law reform which was deemed closed and\nsecretive in March 2025, as well as various public protests in August\n2025.<\/p>\n
The latest attack on Andrie occurred on Thursday evening, 12 March\n2026, at approximately 23:37 local time on Jalan Salemba I Talang in\nCentral Jakarta. Andrie was assaulted by two unknown individuals riding\na motorcycle as he was returning home after recording a podcast at the\nYLBHI office titled \u201cRemilitarisation and Judicial Review of Military\nLaw\u201d.<\/p>\n
As a result of the attack, the victim sustained 24 per cent burns\nacross his entire body, affecting his face, chest, both hands, and eye\nareas. He is currently receiving intensive care at Cipto Mangunkusumo\nHospital and is scheduled to undergo amniotic membrane grafting surgery\non his eyes.<\/p>\n
Siti emphasised that as a human rights defender, Andrie Yunus is\nentitled to state protection as guaranteed under Article 28G of the 1945\nConstitution and Law No.\u00a039 of 1999 on Human Rights.<\/p>\n
INFID, together with other civil society organisations, has urged law\nenforcement authorities to promptly and thoroughly investigate the\nperpetrators and intellectual masterminds behind the attack. Siti urged\ntransparent investigation, including examination of evidence at the\nscene and CCTV footage in the vicinity.<\/p>\n
The civil society coalition also demands state protection for human\nrights defenders. Such protection is regulated under Law No.\u00a039 of 1999\nand National Human Rights Commission Regulation No.\u00a05 of 2015, which\nmandates that the state provide safe protection for everyone working to\npromote human rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cINFID also calls for enforcement of premeditated murder charges.\nGiven the fatal potential of caustic soda, authorities should prosecute\nthe perpetrators under premeditated murder (attempted) provisions,\u201d Siti\nsaid.<\/p>\n
INFID stands with Kontras and all elements of civil society to ensure\nthat violence will never silence the truth. \u201cWe will continue to monitor\nthis case until Andrie Yunus receives full justice,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/attack-on-human-rights-activist-andrie-yunus-not-ordinary-crime-infid-1773456982", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }