Affirming the Value of Military Courts, Defence Minister Urges Public to Ask the TNI How Many Generals Have Been Imprisoned

Jakarta, KOMPAS.com - Defence Minister (Menhan) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin emphasised that military courts carry a very high standing. He invited the public to ask: how many three-star, two-star, and one-star generals have been imprisoned through military courts? In the DPR’s Commission I meeting in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday (19 May 2026), he said, ‘In the TNI, this capability is also accompanied by tightening of guard duties. You can ask the TNI. How many three-star, how many two-star, how many one-star generals have been imprisoned.’ He added that perpetrators who douse acid on KontraS activist Andrie Yunus could face harsher penalties. ‘There is currently a senior officer serving a life sentence for violating military justice. So if there was talk earlier about the acid attack, the penalties could be heavier,’ he explained. ‘So this is to let you know that military justice is of very high value. Moreover, there is now a military prosecutor in the Attorney General’s Office, and a Military Court within the Supreme Court,’ he added. Four BAIS TNI personnel are undergoing the first hearing in the case of alleged acid attack on Andrie Yunus at Military Court II-08 Jakarta, on Wednesday, 29 April 2026. In the proceedings, Military Prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Chk Muhammad Iswadi disclosed the initial motive behind the acid-splash incident against Andrie Yunus. The defendants regard the victim’s actions as a form of disrespect to the TNI. ‘That the defendants have known Andrie Yunus since 16 March 2025 when he forced entry and interrupted at the Fairmont Jakarta hotel,’ said Military Prosecutor Lt Col Chk Muhammad Iswadi at Military Court II-08, on Wednesday. ‘With that incident, the defendants say Andrie Yunus has insulted the TNI, even trampling the TNI,’ he added. The prosecutor explained that the sequence of events began on Monday (9 March 2026) at around 13:00 WIB when Sergeant Edi Sudarko met Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto at the Al Ikhlas Mosque BAIS TNI.