Civilians Caught in the Whirlwind of the Andrie Yunus Murder Attempt Operation

On 12 March 2026, Andrie Yunus was observed conducting activities at various locations, starting from the KontraS office in Kwitang, a house in Menteng, the YLBHI office, and other points such as the Cikini petrol station. Based on research and investigation results presented by detikX sources, activity from the same phone number was detected at nearly all these locations. Upon tracing, the number was registered under the name of an individual who is a state apparatus from an institution associated with the use of weapons. This finding indicates that Andrie had been monitored and tailed throughout the day. However, suspicions of involvement in this murder attempt do not stop at uniformed state apparatus. There are strong indications that civilians were also involved. At several locations, traces of communication from one of the perpetrators, whose name has been announced by Polda Metro Jaya and Puspom TNI—namely Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono (BHC alias BHW)—were detected. According to a source who declined to be identified, on the day of the incident, Budhi was actively communicating with two phone numbers suspected to be registered under civilians. These two numbers were then also suspected to be connected to another number belonging to a state apparatus—referred to as Budhi’s professional colleague—indicating a pattern of cross-party coordination. After the murder attempt action was carried out, Budhi is suspected of communicating with two other state apparatus. Both are suspected to be seniors, mid-level officers in a state agency. Indications of civilian involvement are further strengthened by findings from the Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD). In their independent investigation released last Thursday regarding the acid splashing case against Andrie Yunus, TAUD identified at least 16 unidentified persons (OTK) suspected of being involved. This identification was conducted through analysis of CCTV recordings around YLBHI and the incident location. From the recordings, 16 people were seen alternately conducting surveillance, meeting, communicating, and coordinating with the main perpetrator. The TAUD team also traced the vehicles used by the group. The results showed that some vehicles were registered under civilians, while others were identified as belonging to state apparatus or their families. “We must convey that there are strong indications of civilian involvement in this operation,” said independent researcher Ravio Patra, who is part of TAUD. “The 16 OTK in yellow helmets,” Ravio added, “have been traced by us and are suspected to be civilians based on the ownership of the motorbikes that were ignored.” TAUD suspects that in the operation, the perpetrators actually targeted death or a murder attempt on Andrie. This is because the perpetrators deliberately targeted the face area. Additionally, the perpetrators had been stalking Andrie for a long time and knew his habit of not wearing a helmet for short-distance trips. That day, almost throughout the day when riding his motorbike, Andrie did not wear a helmet. Only after refuelling at the Cikini petrol station—minutes before the acid splashing—did he put on the helmet. A protest rally was held by activists, students, and people from various elements in front of the Constitutional Court building, Jalan Abdul Muis, Jakarta, on Wednesday (8/4/2026). “We can only speculate that when refuelling, the helmet was an obstacle, so when Andri opened the motorbike seat, the helmet was then used. That is what may have slightly saved Andri on the night of the splashing incident. If he hadn’t worn the helmet, we don’t know what Andri’s fate would be today,” Ravio said. Besides that group, another source met by detikX mentioned a civilian suspected of acting as an IT expert in this operation. This figure is said to have once stayed at a house in the Panglima Polim III area, South Jakarta. A police source familiar with the investigation process also confirmed suspicions of civilian involvement. He stated that evidence was obtained from telephone connection analysis and CCTV recordings. However, he also admitted that the police were not free to handle this case. According to him, there was pressure from ‘above’ to quickly hand over the case to Puspom TNI. Not the First Attack KontraS has long been known as an organisation consistently pushing for reform within the military. When the TNI Bill was circulating in the DPR RI, KontraS actively called for a delay in its ratification and criticised its discussion as a setback for reform. One prominent action was the interruption of the closed discussion of the TNI Bill by DPR RI members at the Fairmont Hotel in March 2025. Since that action, KontraS has frequently received terror. Their office in Kwitang has been repeatedly visited by unidentified persons, both during the day and in the middle of the night. In one incident, a group of sturdy-built men with crew cuts came right in the middle of the night. They claimed to be media crew but refused to state which media. Terror also targeted individuals. Last year, one of KontraS staff received repeated calls from an unknown number. After tracing, the number was suspected to belong to an intelligence member from one of the state institutions. Besides the TNI Bill issue, KontraS is also actively advocating for victims of disappearances in the August 2025 unrest. The involvement of Andrie and his colleagues in this issue has put them back in indirect contact with military apparatus. Given that the August 2025 Fact-Finding Commission report indicated the role of apparatus—especially the military—in the incident. To date, KontraS is still investigating the deaths of Reno and Farhan, two people previously reported missing during the August demonstration. Their bodies were later found in skeletal condition in a building in Kwitang. Even, just days before the acid splashing incident, KontraS was reportedly actively considering further steps regarding this case. Demand for Public Prosecution The General Chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Muhammad Isnur stated