Attack on Human Rights Activist Andrie Yunus Not Ordinary Crime: INFID
The International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) has strongly condemned the caustic soda attack against Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras), by unknown assailants.
INFID’s Executive Director Siti Khoirun Nikmah stated that the attack constitutes not an ordinary crime but a genuine threat to democracy and an attempt to silence critical voices of human rights defenders in Indonesia. INFID suspects the assault is part of a pattern of intimidation directed at human rights advocacy work.
“No personal belongings of the victim were stolen, so there is strong evidence that this attack was motivated by intimidation related to the human rights work carried out by the victim,” Siti said in a written statement on 13 March 2026.
This is particularly significant given that Andrie Yunus had already experienced a series of intimidation and threats following the “Fairmont Sit-in” by a civil society coalition protesting a parliamentary committee hearing on military law reform which was deemed closed and secretive in March 2025, as well as various public protests in August 2025.
The latest attack on Andrie occurred on Thursday evening, 12 March 2026, at approximately 23:37 local time on Jalan Salemba I Talang in Central Jakarta. Andrie was assaulted by two unknown individuals riding a motorcycle as he was returning home after recording a podcast at the YLBHI office titled “Remilitarisation and Judicial Review of Military Law”.
As a result of the attack, the victim sustained 24 per cent burns across his entire body, affecting his face, chest, both hands, and eye areas. He is currently receiving intensive care at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital and is scheduled to undergo amniotic membrane grafting surgery on his eyes.
Siti emphasised that as a human rights defender, Andrie Yunus is entitled to state protection as guaranteed under Article 28G of the 1945 Constitution and Law No. 39 of 1999 on Human Rights.
INFID, together with other civil society organisations, has urged law enforcement authorities to promptly and thoroughly investigate the perpetrators and intellectual masterminds behind the attack. Siti urged transparent investigation, including examination of evidence at the scene and CCTV footage in the vicinity.
The civil society coalition also demands state protection for human rights defenders. Such protection is regulated under Law No. 39 of 1999 and National Human Rights Commission Regulation No. 5 of 2015, which mandates that the state provide safe protection for everyone working to promote human rights.
“INFID also calls for enforcement of premeditated murder charges. Given the fatal potential of caustic soda, authorities should prosecute the perpetrators under premeditated murder (attempted) provisions,” Siti said.
INFID stands with Kontras and all elements of civil society to ensure that violence will never silence the truth. “We will continue to monitor this case until Andrie Yunus receives full justice,” she concluded.