Amnesty: 2.5-Year Sentence Demand for Acid Attackers of Andrie Yunus is an Affront to Justice
The Executive Director of Amnesty International Indonesia, Usman Hamid, has stated that the 2.5-year prison sentence demand against four TNI soldiers accused of acid-spraying the Deputy Coordinator of KontraS, Andrie Yunus, does not reflect a sense of justice.
Usman noted that the charges filed by the Military Prosecutor are far from proportional to the actions committed by the defendants. “The 2.5-year prison demand for the attackers of Andrie Yunus is an affront to justice,” Usman Hamid told reporters on Wednesday (3/6).
According to Usman, the sentencing demand in the acid attack case against Andrie Yunus demonstrates a failure to deliver justice for the victim. “A 2.5-year prison sentence is not a demand that seeks to approach justice. Instead, it is an arrogance of denial. Therefore, it is far from being proportional,” he said.
He also warned that the judges’ eventual verdict could potentially be even lighter than the demand submitted by the military prosecutor. For comparison, Usman cited a case where a military member was sentenced to only 10 months in prison after assaulting a 15-year-old student.
In addition to highlighting the sentencing demand, Usman assessed that this case serves as evidence of the need for an evaluation of the military justice mechanism in handling TNI members involved in human rights violations. “It is time to end military trials for military members involved in human rights crimes,” he asserted.
Furthermore, Usman emphasised that while perfect justice may be difficult to achieve, this should not be used as an excuse to ignore efforts to provide punishment that is fair and comparable to the perpetrators’ actions.
Previously, the military prosecutor demanded a 2.5-year prison sentence for the four TNI soldiers accused in the acid-spraying case against Andrie Yunus. The sentencing hearing was held at the Military Court II-08 Jakarta on Wednesday (3/6).
The four defendants in the case are Sergeant Edi Sudarko, Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi, Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetyo, and Lieutenant Sami Lakka.
During the trial, the military prosecutor stated that the defendants were proven guilty of spraying acid on Andrie Yunus. The defendants were found to have violated Article 467, Paragraph (1) in conjunction with Paragraph (2) of Law Number 1 of 2023 regarding the Criminal Code, in conjunction with Article 20, letter c of Law Number 1 of 2023.