Andrie Yunus' Side Will Not Attend First Hearing at Military Court
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Representatives from Wakil Koordinator KontraS Andrie Yunus have stated they will not attend the first hearing of the acid splashing case, scheduled at Military Court II-08 Jakarta on Wednesday (29/4).
“We are responding to the fact that the first hearing is on the 29th; our side will not come. We fully reject the process running in the military court, Military Court II-08 Jakarta,” said KontraS Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya in Jakarta on Friday.
Dimas explained that this stance was taken because they do not trust the military court process in handling the case.
He said that from the beginning, their side along with Andrie Yunus has repeatedly expressed rejection of the use of the military court forum.
According to him, there are several reasons forming the basis of this rejection, one of which is the concern that the process in the military court will not be able to uncover the intellectual actors behind the acid splashing case.
In addition, the motive of the case has the potential to be twisted or manipulated. The military’s statement labelling the motive as personal vendetta is seen as risking limiting the perpetrators to only certain individuals.
“If we look at the statement from the TNI side yesterday saying that the motive is personal vendetta, this reminds us of the Bang Novel (Baswedan) case in 2017, where the perpetrators at that time also stated that the reason or motive for the attack was personal vendetta as well. What we fear, what we worry about, this manipulation has the aim of localising the perpetrators only to 4 people,” said Dimas.
However, the involvement of those parties is deemed unlikely to be uncovered in the trial process at the military court.
“What about the processes regarding the people we have identified? Will that also be made a fact of the trial in the military court? I think not,” Dimas said.
On the other hand, their side views the case as a general criminal offence, not a military criminal offence.
Therefore, the resolution of the case should be carried out through a general court or civil court.
“Thus, it is more appropriate if the resolution process is carried out under the jurisdiction of the general court or civil court. And that is the background for us not wanting to attend the processes in the military court run by the TNI,” he said.
The first hearing schedules the reading of the indictment against the defendants who are active military members.
In the inaugural hearing, the defendants are certain to be presented directly in the courtroom. Their presence is mandatory as part of the process of reading the charges by the military prosecutor.
Military Court II-08 Jakarta also ensures that the trial process is open to the public. The public, including media circles, is invited to follow the course of the trial to ensure the transparency of the legal process.
Andrie Yunus became the victim of the splashing, suspected to be acid, resulting in injuries to his hands and feet as well as vision impairment.
The Military Police have named four members of the TNI Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) as suspects in this case. They are Captain NDP, First Lieutenant SL, First Lieutenant BHW, and Second Sergeant ES.