Civil Coalition Urges Acid Attack Case to be Tried in General Court
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — The Civil Society Coalition has strongly condemned the brutal acid attack carried out by four TNI members against human rights defender Andrie Yunus. The Civil Society Coalition is urging that the four suspects be criminally prosecuted through the general court system to guarantee transparency and accountability.
“This act of violence and brutality damages democracy, undermines the Constitution, and attacks human rights,” said Al Araf, a member of the Civil Society Coalition, in a press release on Wednesday (18/3/2026).
This Centre Initiative activist stated that the Civil Society Coalition deeply regrets the TNI’s reactive response, which plans to resolve the matter through the military court system. However, it is common knowledge that the military court system has issues with impunity, often serving as a space to cover up accountability for criminal acts involving TNI members.
Bringing this case to the military court, according to him, is also feared to eliminate the severity and systematic nature of the case. “It is not impossible that this case could implicate higher command perpetrators as intellectual actors,” he revealed.
The Civil Society Coalition believes that if there are systematic elements and command accountability behind this acid attack on Andrie Yunus, they are unlikely to be uncovered if resolved through the military court route. “On the contrary, the case would be closed at the level of the field perpetrators alone, leaving an unresolved trail of human rights violations,” said Al Araf.
Therefore, the Civil Society Coalition urges that this case be thoroughly investigated up to the intellectual actors and not stop at the field perpetrators. Through a transparent and accountable judicial process in the general court system.
Considering the initial indications of the field perpetrators involved, the Head of BAIS, the TNI Commander, and the Minister of Defence should not wash their hands of and shirk responsibility for this incident. As the highest command holders over the field perpetrators, all three are responsible for opening up this case thoroughly until the intellectual perpetrators are revealed.
In addition, considering the information and initial evidence from this case, which show the structured and systematic nature of the perpetrators’ actions, Komnas HAM must immediately conduct an investigation to assess the possibility of serious human rights violations. Especially given the victim’s track record as a human rights defender who has been actively involved in advocating for the revision of the TNI Law since February 2025.
“Not to mention the suspected involvement of the perpetrators’ institutions, which are alleged to be involved in a series of violent incidents, particularly in the tragedy of the late August 2025 riots,” he revealed.
The coalition also urges that the facts presented by the police and TNI be re-verified for accuracy through an independent body, in this case Komnas HAM. Therefore, they urge Komnas HAM to act actively in uncovering and investigating the existing facts.
“For that purpose, we urge the President to form a joint fact-finding team. At the same time, Komnas HAM should immediately form a fact-finding team to uncover the truth of this case,” said Al Araf.
The Civil Society Coalition views the acid attack case afflicting Andrie Yunus as a serious threat to human rights defenders, as well as the future of human rights and democracy in Indonesia. Therefore, it requires serious attention in its handling, ensuring resolution through the general criminal court mechanism and, if the elements are met, through the Human Rights Court mechanism for serious human rights violation crimes.
This is important so that similar cases of violence and terror targeting the public no longer occur, as a manifestation of the guarantee of non-recurrence.