Civil Coalition Doubts TNI's Handling of Andrie Yunus Case
A civil society coalition doubts the handling by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) of the suspected premeditated murder case targeting Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).
Coalition representative Usman Hamid stated that the coalition does not fully trust the statements and actions of the Military Police Centre, which claims to have arrested four soldiers who threw corrosive chemicals at Andrie.
“We doubt this case can be thoroughly resolved if handled by the TNI alone,” Usman said via WhatsApp message on Wednesday, 18 March 2026.
Moreover, he noted the differing approaches between the police and the TNI. The Metro Jaya Regional Police only released the initials of two alleged attackers today.
Meanwhile, at the same time, the TNI Military Police Centre stated that it had arrested four soldiers from the TNI BAIS unit suspected of attacking Andrie Yunus last week.
The four soldiers are initialled NDP, SL, BWH, and ES. “The four suspects have been secured at the TNI Military Police Centre for further investigation up to the prosecution level,” said Commander of the TNI Military Police Centre Major General Yusri Nuryanto during a press conference on Wednesday.
Andrie Yunus was attacked by unknown individuals while passing through Jalan Salemba I-Talang, Central Jakarta, on Thursday night, 12 March 2025.
The perpetrators attacked the human rights activist by throwing corrosive chemicals on several parts of his body, from his arms, chest, face, to his eyes.
Medical records indicate that Andrie suffered burns over more than 20 percent of his body due to the throwing by the perpetrators. The civil society coalition suspects that the acid attack on Andrie did not occur randomly but is related to his activities.
Dimas said that his colleague was attacked by two unknown individuals after recording a podcast event titled “Remilitarism and Judicial Review in Indonesia” held at the YLBHI Office, Central Jakarta.
Before that, Dimas said, Andrie had also been contacted several times by unknown numbers. Kontras recorded eight unknown numbers contacting Andrie between 9-11 March 2026.
Three numbers are of unknown identity, while the other five are suspected to be from online loan applications and scams.
The terror directed at Andrie is not happening for the first time; a year ago, during discussions on revisions to the TNI Law, Andrie was one of the figures who vocally opposed the discussions.
The alumnus of the Jentera Higher Institute of Legal Sciences also once stormed a closed meeting on revisions to the TNI Law at the Fairmont Hotel, Jakarta.
After the storming action, Andrie was terrorised by unknown numbers and there was frequent movement of TNI tactical vehicles in front of the Kontras office.
Dimas said that terror was also directed at Andrie’s parents in Sukabumi, West Java. On 16 January, the residence of the human rights activist’s parents was visited by unknown individuals.
He suspects that the uninvited guests’ visit is related to Andrie’s activities. “We will not back down an inch from our work in defending human rights,” Dimas said in a written statement on 13 March 2026.