Andrie Yunus Advocacy Team Deems Many Irregularities in Indictment for Acid Attack Case

The Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD), which is defending KontraS activist Andrie Yunus, has assessed that there are many irregularities in the indictment against the four TNI soldiers who are the defendants in the acid attack case. TAUD believes the indictment was prepared hastily.

“It would be best if this case is cancelled and withdrawn outright because the proof is very rushed and there are many irregularities, with numerous pieces of evidence not yet included,” said one TAUD member, Erlangga Julio, during a press conference at the YLBHI office in Central Jakarta on Monday (4/5/2026).

He stated that the first irregularity lies in the content of the indictment, which claims the defendants knew Andrie upon seeing a video of the moment Andrie protested the TNI Bill meeting at the Fairmont Hotel. He said this is odd because there is no detailed explanation of which video was seen or through what device it was viewed.

“The indictment also describes how the defendants suddenly gathered and there was a conversation, with someone seeing the video of Andrie protesting at the Fairmont Hotel. But it does not explain what video was seen, and that video is not presented as evidence. Nor is it specified through what medium they viewed the video,” he remarked.

TAUD also assessed irregularities regarding the composition of the acid as described in the indictment. One of them, he said, is the lack of expert statements outlined in the indictment regarding the content of the acid thrown at Andrie.

“They state that this chemical liquid caused Andrie to suffer serious injuries. But there is no expert testimony in it to corroborate or explain that this chemical liquid can indeed cause serious injuries like those suffered by Andrie,” he explained.

TAUD also assessed that the sequence of the acid throwing at Andrie in the indictment against the four soldiers is incomplete. He highlighted the condition of the injury on one of the defendants due to acid splashes, which was assessed directly by the judge in the trial without involving an expert.

“And in the trial, the panel directly asked what the injury was like. The panel asked defendant ES to remove his hat and show his injury. Then the panel seemed to gesture, asking if ES could see how many fingers this is? And it’s unclear whether ES could see or not,” he said.

“We also urge that this indictment be withdrawn outright. Because why continue this case like this? Withdraw the indictment, clarify the case, then bring it to civil court, combine it with various expert opinions and a clearer chronological sequence,” he added.

Another TAUD member, Albert Wirya, raised the issue of the judge requesting Andrie Yunus’s presence in the trial. He considered this like a threat if Andrie did not comply with the request to appear as a witness.

“We consider that as a threat to Andrie Yunus to attend the trial to give his statement,” he said.

He considered the trial process odd. He mentioned that Andrie’s request to reject this case being tried in a military court was also not considered.

“And in all the processes, this reinforces the suspicions from civil society that the judicial process built so far, up to last week’s military trial, was from the beginning not victim-oriented,” he stated.

As is known, the prosecutor charged the four acid-throwing soldiers with violating Article 469 paragraph 1 subsidiary to Article 468 paragraph 1 further subsidiary to Article 467 paragraph 1 in conjunction with paragraph 2 in conjunction with Article 20 letter C of Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code.

The prosecutor said the motive for the defendants carrying out the acid throwing was annoyance at Andrie Yunus’s attitude in interrupting the meeting discussing the revision of the TNI Law held by the DPR at the Fairmont Hotel, Jakarta. The defendants considered Andrie’s actions to have insulted the TNI institution.

“With that incident, the defendants considered that Mr Andrie Yunus had insulted the TNI institution, even trampling on the TNI institution,” said the prosecutor when reading the indictment at the East Jakarta Military Court.