Anies Baswedan: President's Statement Calling for Thorough Investigation into Andrie Yunus Case Must Be Fulfilled by Authorities

Former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has stressed that President Prabowo Subianto’s commitment to thoroughly investigating the acid attack on Kontras activist Andrie Yunus must be genuinely carried out by law enforcement agencies.

“And his stance (President Prabowo’s) committing to conduct an investigation must be realised by all law enforcement apparatus,” Anies said when met after the open house for Eid al-Fitr 2026 at his residence in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, on Saturday (21/3/2026) night.

According to Anies, Prabowo’s statement labelling the case as an act of terrorism also underscores the importance of protecting democracy.

Therefore, he urged the apparatus under the President to consistently carry out that directive.

Anies assessed that from the outset, the acid attack on Andrie was not an ordinary criminal act, but rather an assault on an individual fighting for democracy.

He described Andrie as one of the activists who consistently voices signs of democratic regression along with other civil society groups.

“When this incident happened, it is not an ordinary crime; from the beginning, this is not an ordinary crime. And it is impossible that it was carried out by just 1-2 people sporadically,” stated the former Minister of Education and Culture.

Therefore, he encouraged that the legal process should not stop at the field perpetrators, but rather uncover the parties suspected of giving the orders.

“This incident must be investigated up to the one who gave the orders. And it must be elaborated why there was that order, why there was that command, why there was that task,” said Anies.

Furthermore, Anies also emphasised the importance of transparency in the legal process.

“I think the public wants transparency. They want a process that can be monitored by everyone and should not repeat like the events that often happen. Always, those who are punished are the most downstream perpetrators,” he said.

Previously reported, President Prabowo emphasised that the acid attack case on Andrie Yunus is a serious criminal act that falls into the category of terrorism.

He asked the apparatus to investigate it thoroughly up to the intellectual actors behind the incident.