Andrie Yunus Refuses to Attend Acid-Spraying Trial, Fears Intimidation

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - KontraS activist Andrie Yunus has refused to attend the trial for the acid-spraying case at the Military Court II-08 in Jakarta.

Representative of the Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD), Airlangga Julio, expressed concerns that if Andrie Yunus were to appear in court, he might face intimidation.

“And if Andrie comes, he might even experience intimidation. Because we can see from what happened recently that there have been various ways to continuously delegitimise Andrie’s efforts in criticising the TNI institution,” Julio explained at the Military Court II-08 in Jakarta on Monday (11/5/2026).

“Then we can all see in the trial that the judge seems to be siding with the perpetrators. For example, suggesting that this criminal act should have been carried out in a better way,” Julio added.

Julio explained that they have not yet received a summons for the military trial against Andrie Yunus.

“The military prosecutor only sent a request letter for an additional witness to the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK). However, in the construction of criminal procedure law, the summons should be sent physically,” he stated.

He also demanded that the 16 alleged perpetrators involved in the acid-spraying case against Andrie Yunus be uncovered and tried in civilian court.

“We, together with Andrie Yunus, firmly reject the military trial process at the Military Court II-08 in Jakarta, and we demand that the charges be withdrawn and the case be stopped,” he said.

Previously, four Indonesian National Army (TNI) personnel were charged with throwing acid at Deputy Coordinator of KontraS, Andrie Yunus, in Salemba, Central Jakarta.

The four defendants are Sergeant Two Edi Sudarko, First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi, Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetya, and First Lieutenant Sami Lakka.

“The defendants considered that Mr Andrie Yunus had insulted the TNI institution and even trampled on the TNI institution,” stated Military Prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Corps of Law (Chk) TNI Muhammad Iswadi during the trial at the Military Court II-08 in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The four defendants are charged with multiple articles, namely Article 469 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code as the primary charge, Article 468 paragraph (1) as subsidiary, and Articles 467 paragraphs (1) and (2) as further subsidiary, in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of Law Number 1 of 2023.