Andrie Subjected to Terror Following Disruption of TNI Bill Parliamentary Meeting
The Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Andrie Yunus, is no stranger to threats from unknown assailants. Prior to being sprayed with caustic acid on Thursday evening, 12 March 2026, Andrie had been subjected to intimidation following his disruption of a closed-door parliamentary meeting discussing the revised National Armed Forces Bill (RUU TNI) at a five-star hotel the previous year.
Andrie Yunus was among activists who interrupted the RUU TNI discussion meeting held by Commission I of the Indonesian House of Representatives and the government at the Fairmont Hotel on Saturday afternoon, 15 March 2025. In this action, Andrie and representatives of the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform forced their way into the meeting room and declared their opposition to the TNI Bill revision. They entered to interrupt the session attended by Commission I members and government officials, carrying a banner expressing their rejection of the RUU TNI. The coalition opposed the RUU TNI discussion because it was conducted in a closed and non-transparent manner.
“Reject the RUU TNI. Return the military to barracks,” chanted the protesters outside the Fairmont Hotel meeting room in Jakarta.
Several hours later, the KontraS office on Jalan Kramat II, Kwitang, Central Jakarta, was visited by three unknown men in the early hours of Sunday, 16 March 2026, around 00:16 Western Indonesian Time. Andrie Yunus reported that three strangers rang the bell repeatedly without any clear purpose.
“We asked where they were from. One man in black clothing then answered ‘from the media’ whilst continuing to ring our gate bell,” said Andrie when contacted on Sunday, 16 March 2025. The three unknown men pressed the bell for approximately five minutes.
Within a similar timeframe, Andrie also received three telephone calls from unknown numbers. These calls occurred between 00:00 and 00:15 Western Indonesian Time.
Andrie believed the arrival of the three strangers constituted intimidation against KontraS, as several hours earlier KontraS and the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform had disrupted the closed-door RUU TNI discussion meeting at the Fairmont Hotel in Central Jakarta.
“We suspect this was an act of terror following our joint criticism with the civil society coalition of the legislative process for the TNI Bill revision,” said Andrie.
A year later, Andrie Yunus suffered a physical attack and violence in the form of caustic acid being sprayed on him whilst on Jalan Salemba I-Talang, Central Jakarta, on Thursday evening, 12 March 2026. Andrie was sprayed with a dangerous solution by two unknown individuals. The two men were riding a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction to Andrie.
KontraS Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya stated that the perpetrators sprayed caustic acid at the front of Andrie’s body. Afterwards Andrie collapsed onto the road. “The victim immediately screamed in pain and dropped his motorcycle,” said Dimas on Friday, 13 March 2026.
Dimas recounted that before the incident, Andrie had just finished recording a podcast titled “Remilitarisation and Judicial Review in Indonesia” at the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) office in Central Jakarta, around 23:00 Western Indonesian Time on Thursday evening. After that, the victim stopped at a petrol station in the Cikini area, Central Jakarta. He then continued his journey by riding his motorcycle.
Around 23:37 Western Indonesian Time, two men suspected to be male, riding a scooter motorcycle, approached Andrie. The two men then sprayed caustic acid towards Andrie. The corrosive chemical solution struck the right side of Andrie’s body, including his eyes, face, chest, and hands.
Part of the victim’s clothing also melted from being hit by the caustic acid. Medical examination results showed Andrie suffered severe burns covering 24 per cent of his body. The victim screamed in pain and mentioned the caustic acid, prompting several residents to arrive at the scene.
The perpetrators dropped a stainless steel glass whilst attempting to flee. The perpetrators are suspected to have fled towards Jalan Salemba Raya, Central Jakarta. At the time this report was written, Andrie Yunus was still receiving intensive care at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM).