Andrie Yunus Sulphuric Acid Attack and the Long History of Salemba Road

JAKARTA — The case of the sulphuric acid attack on KontraS activist Andrie Yunus adds to the long list of incidents that have occurred in the Salemba Road area, Central Jakarta. This event is not only highlighted due to the violence against an activist but also serves as a reminder that Salemba has long been a space of intersection between civil movements, power, and social conflicts. This summary is compiled from various Kompas.com reports documenting the dynamics of the area over time. Police state that a total of four people were involved in the attack. Director of General Criminal Investigation of Metro Jaya Police, Senior Commissioner Iman Imanuddin, said that two suspects believed to be the executors are initialled BHC and MAK, while the other two acted as motorbike drivers. “Police data, the perpetrators are initialled BHC and MAK,” Iman said. From the investigation results, the perpetrators were seen in CCTV footage riding pillion on two motorbikes. They are believed to have followed the victim since leaving the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) in Menteng, Central Jakarta. In the footage, the perpetrators also changed clothes on Diponegoro Road. Police suspect this was done to eliminate traces or because they were hit by the acid liquid. “Suspected to have hit part of their bodies, so they tried to clean it with mineral water,” Iman said. At almost the same time, the TNI held a press conference regarding this case. Commander of the TNI Military Police Centre (Danpuspom) Headquarters, Major General TNI Yusri Nuryanto, stated that the four suspected individuals are active soldiers. “The four alleged perpetrators are from the TNI Bais Denma,” Yusri said.