33 Days of the Acid Attack on Andrie: KontraS Reveals Numerous Irregularities
The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) has revealed several unresolved irregularities in the public domain following the planned attempted murder of its deputy coordinator Andrie Yunus, 33 days after the incident.
KontraS Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya stated that the ongoing legal process within the military does not align with the initial commitments and promises made by the TNI to uncover the case in an accountable and transparent manner.
In fact, the TNI has not released the faces or identities of the four suspects involved in dousing Andrie with acid.
The investigation and prosecution process within the TNI, conducted by the Military Police Centre (Puspom), Dimas said, also fails to outline findings and facts already provided by the Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD) as Andrie’s legal representatives.
Facts regarding the involvement of 16 individuals who were seen conducting surveillance, communication, and coordination in the field before the incident, as well as suspicions of operational and structural command, remain undisclosed, signalling a lack of transparency and accountability in enforcing the law against the acid attack perpetrators.
Dimas then raised questions about the resignation of the Head and Deputy Head of the Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) as well as the Director of Directorate E in BAIS, which has become a major point of contention.
“Command responsibility within the BAIS structure does not end merely with ethical accountability, but also includes criminal sanctions as the head or superior who knows and is responsible (command responsibility) for the behaviour and actions of subordinates,” Dimas said in a written statement on Thursday (16/4).
KontraS also highlighted that following the acid attack on Andrie, numerous acts of violence in the form of terror and intimidation against parties showing solidarity continue to occur frequently.
This further strengthens KontraS’s thesis that the cycle of violence and impunity will not end without a fair, transparent, accountable legal mechanism that provides a deterrent effect to the perpetrators and involved institutions.
Furthermore, KontraS spotlighted the arbitrary blocking by the Republic of Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi) of publications and Andrie solidarity campaigns on social media platforms.
According to Dimas, this contradicts freedom of expression and freedom of the press, which are foundational to democracy.
In addition, KontraS criticised the stance of Commission III of the People’s Representative Council (DPR) RI for not pressing the government to form an Independent Fact-Finding Commission/Team (TGPF) so that fact-gathering and evidence collection can be conducted quickly, effectively, transparently, and accountably without conflicts of interest.
Yet, DPR members play the role of aspiration bearers.
“In light of the above chain of problems, we urge all parties to carry out their duties and functions transparently, accountably, and with full integrity towards the values and principles of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law for a just resolution,” Dimas said.
Andrie Yunus was doused with acid in the second week of March after delivering a podcast at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) office titled “Remilitarisation & Judicial Review of the TNI Law”.
Today, Thursday (16/4), the Military Audit II-07 Jakarta will hand over the case file and suspects in the acid attack on Andrie to the military court.
The Auditor applies layered articles regarding assault, not planned attempted murder, against the four perpetrators in this case.