Andrie Yunus, KontraS Activist, 'Breached' Hotel Military Bill Discussion
Andrie Yunus, Vice Coordinator of KontraS, became a victim of a corrosive liquid attack in the Salemba area of Central Jakarta on Thursday (12 March) evening.
KontraS Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya stated that the incident occurred after Andrie Yunus attended a podcast event titled ‘Remilitarisation and Judicial Review in Indonesia’ at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) office on Thursday evening.
“He suffered an attack involving corrosive liquid by unknown perpetrators that resulted in serious injuries across his body, particularly on both hands, face, chest, and eye areas,” he said in a written statement on Friday (13 March).
Last year, Andrie drew attention when he and his colleagues ‘breached’ the door of the Military Bill discussion, which was allegedly taking place behind closed doors at the Fairmont Hotel in Jakarta in March 2025. The action was conducted as a form of protest against the legislative process, which was deemed non-transparent and lacking public participation.
Following the action, Andrie Yunus and several activists were reported to the police by hotel security personnel on charges of disrupting a meeting. The report became controversial as some regarded it as an attempt to criminalise civil society protest actions.
At that time, the Civil Society Coalition called on the Metro Jakarta Police Department to drop the report filed by the hotel security chief regarding the action to storm the revised Military Bill discussion.
“We also lodged an objection with the hope that the Metro Jakarta Police will not process further the report from the security or will drop it,” said Tim Advokasi untuk Demokrasi (TAUD) member Arif Maulana at the Metro Jakarta Police Department on Tuesday (18 March 2025).
Arif stated that the action taken by Andrie Yunus and Javier Maramba at the Fairmont Hotel was part of citizens’ rights to oversee the legislative process deemed to be aberrant.
On the other hand, the Military Bill was eventually passed as Law No. 3/2025. The civil society coalition subsequently submitted a formal review of the law to the Constitutional Court (MK). At that time, Andrie appeared to provide testimony on behalf of the petitioners. He was presented as a witness and explained the timeline of the closed-door meeting at the Fairmont Hotel that the petitioners raised concerns about.
However, in its ruling in September 2025, the Constitutional Court rejected the formal review petition against the Military Bill. The judges stated that the petitioners’ arguments were not proven legally, and therefore the law remained in force.
In response to the ruling, Andrie Yunus expressed his disappointment, stating that the decision did not address public concerns regarding the law-making process, which was deemed closed and controversial. He also assessed that the ruling had the potential to expand the military’s role into civilian matters.
According to various sources, before joining KontraS in 2022, Andrie was a public advocate at LBH Jakarta from 2019 to 2022.
In this capacity, he frequently served as a spokesperson for the organisation on various issues related to democracy, security sector reform, and settlement of human rights violation cases.
As part of KontraS’s advocacy work, Andrie was often involved in policy research, public campaigns, and support for victims of state violence.
Andrie’s condition and timeline of the corrosive liquid attack
KontraS Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya stated that as a result of the incident, Andrie was immediately taken to hospital for medical treatment. He noted that according to examination results, Andrie suffered 24 per cent burn injuries.
“According to the examination results, Andrie suffered 24 per cent burn injuries,” he said.
From CCTV footage obtained, the timecode recorded at the moment of the incident was approximately 23:30 Western Indonesian Time.
Two men were initially seen riding a single motorcycle, reversing and moving slowly. The man being carried—not wearing a helmet—allegedly sprayed corrosive liquid towards the victim who was passing on his motorcycle.
The victim immediately stopped and dropped his motorcycle, screaming in pain. Nearby residents approached to see what had happened to the victim.
Separately, Police Public Relations Division Head Inspector General Johnny Eddizon Isir stated that National Police Chief General Pol Listyo Sigit Prabowo had given special attention to the case of the corrosive liquid attack against Andrie Yunus.
He explained that the National Police Chief ordered the case to be investigated thoroughly and the perpetrator of the corrosive liquid attack to be apprehended quickly.
“The National Police Chief as the head of the National Police has given special attention to the handling and investigation of this case,” he said at a press conference at his office in South Jakarta on Friday afternoon.
Isir stated that investigators had conducted a crime scene examination and interviewed several witnesses regarding the corrosive liquid attack.
Additionally, investigators had also collected surveillance camera (CCTV) footage from around the location and prepared a model A police report as the basis for investigation of the case.
“Regarding the alleged criminal act of aggravated assault, as stipulated in Article 467 paragraph 2 and/or 468 paragraph 1 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Indonesian Criminal Code,” he said.
He added that the National Police Chief also ordered units from the police precinct level to the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the National Police to take action and provide assistance.
“Backup is being provided both by the Metro Jakarta Police Department and by the Criminal Investigation Directorate, particularly colleagues from the National Police Headquarters,” he said.