Acid Attack on Andrie Yunus Deemed a Premeditated Murder Attempt: Why?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Hundreds of academics, activists, social issue advocates, and non-profit organisations (NGOs) signed a petition titled “Justice for Andrie Yunus: The Military Must Submit to the General Judiciary” on Tuesday (31/3/2026). A total of 118 prominent figures and 148 institutions signed the petition. Ardi Manto Adiputra, a civil society representative and Director of Imparsial, stated that based on independent investigations and police inquiries, the acid attack on Andrie Yunus constitutes a structured and systematic premeditated murder attempt. “Therefore, the disclosure of this case must not stop at the field perpetrators alone,” Ardi said while reading the petition during an online press conference on Tuesday. First, the acid used to douse him was highly corrosive, even melting the plastic of Andrie’s motorbike. He noted that the acid used on Andrie differs from that splashed on former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan in 2017. “The use of such highly corrosive acid was done intentionally, and they were certainly aware it could cause death,” Ardi said. Second, the attack was directed at the face or head area. Given the acid’s potency, it could damage Andrie Yunus’s respiratory tract, potentially leading to death. “Thus, the attack on Andrie is intended to create a fear effect among other human rights activists,” Ardi added. In agreement, Usman Hamid, Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, stated that acid attacks with strong acids directed at a person’s face typically trigger death. In the context of Andrie Yunus’s case, the acid dousing could cause respiratory failure, resulting in the victim’s death. “There are judicial precedents for acid attacks leading to death,” Usman revealed when contacted by Kompas.com.