Article on Premeditated Murder Provision Deemed Appropriate to Prosecute Acid Attack on KontraS Activist

The Director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Fadhil Alfathan has requested that investigators apply the charge of attempted premeditated murder with complicity in the case of the acid attack on KontraS Vice Coordinator Andrie Yunus. According to him, the attack on Andrie is not merely assault but fulfils the elements of attempted premeditated murder with complicity. “Therefore, as the advocacy team for democracy, we have taken official steps by writing to the investigators to immediately apply Article 459 in conjunction with Article 17 in conjunction with Article 20 of the National Criminal Code,” Fadhil stated during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday. He explained simply that the attack using acid by four perpetrators, who had a division of tasks from surveillance, stalking, execution, escape, and so on, shows prior planning. Furthermore, the use of acid targeted at Andrie’s vital parts, such as the head and face, including the eyes and respiratory tract, could result in the most fatal consequences, up to death. Thus, this construction has been conveyed by his side to the investigators, including an analysis of the reasons for applying the charge of attempted premeditated murder with complicity. Fadhil added that the urgency of applying the complicity provision is needed so that the legal construction and direction of the investigation are not only focused on the field perpetrators but also on the intellectual actors or even those who fund it. “That is what we are pushing to the investigators and relevant law enforcement officials. We continue to coordinate and are very cooperative with the investigators,” he said. Previously, Metro Jaya Police had revealed two suspected perpetrators in the acid attack case against Andrie. “We can inform that the two people we showed earlier from one Police data are one with initials BHC, and one with initials MAK,” said the Director of Reskrimum of Metro Jaya Police, Commissioner Iman Imanuddin, during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday. However, Iman explained that based on the investigation results, it does not rule out the possibility that the perpetrators number more than four people, as per the initial information provided and based on statements from several witnesses who have been questioned, namely 15 witnesses.