Contrast: Attack on Andrie Yunus Is Not an Ordinary Criminal Act

The head of the Impunity Monitoring Division at the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence, or Contrast, Jane Rosalina, has called on the government to consider the political context in the case of the acid attack against Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of Contrast. Andrie has been an active human rights defender who has exposed abuse of power, human rights violations and the narrowing of civil liberties in Indonesia.

“Andrie, for example, was involved in the fact-finding commission team that conducted an investigation into the series of demonstrations in August 2025,” Jane said at the YLBHI office in Jakarta on Monday, 16 March 2026.

According to Jane, the violence experienced by Andrie is not an ordinary criminal act. This violence could be categorised as an alleged human rights crime. This crime must be investigated because it is suspected of operating systematically and in an organised manner.

For Jane, the act of the perpetrator spraying acid on Andrie is an attempt at murder, or at least intended to cause permanent disability.

Jane suspects that Andrie is not the sole target of this attack. The attack is suspected of also targeting civil society who dared to expose facts, challenge impunity and criticise those in power.

However, Jane stated that Contrast activists are not afraid of this attack. Moreover, attacks against Contrast activists have occurred before. For example, the premeditated murder of former Contrast Coordinator Munir Said Thalib. “Munir was poisoned because of his work at Contrast in exposing and uncovering practices of abuse of power,” she said.

Contrast has urged all parties, especially the Police, to investigate and take responsibility for investigating this case. Contrast has asked the police to provide clarity in handling Andrie’s case.

“Immediately apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators and expose those involved. Not only field perpetrators but also the intellectual actors,” she said.

Jane also called on the government to ensure comprehensive recovery for Andrie to guarantee the best medical care and victim rehabilitation. There also needs to be prevention so that this incident does not happen again.

Andrie Yunus was attacked by two unknown individuals on Thursday evening, 12 March 2026, around 11:37 p.m. WIB on Salemba I Talang Street, Central Jakarta. At that time, he was on his way home after recording a podcast at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) office on the topic of “Remilitarisation and Judicial Review of the TNI Law”.

The perpetrators allegedly rode a scooter and sprayed acid at the victim before fleeing.

Previously, Coordinator Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra suspected that the attack on Andrie had an organised pattern. According to Yusril, the pattern of attack suggests the possibility of planning, so the investigation of the case should not stop at field perpetrators.

“The pattern of attack carried out appears to be planned and organised, so the investigation of this event should not stop at the executor level, but must also expose the intellectual actors behind it,” Yusril said in a written statement on Friday, 13 March 2026.

He called on law enforcement officers, particularly the National Police, to thoroughly investigate the case until they find the parties behind the attack. “I urge law enforcement officers, particularly the National Police, to ensure thorough investigation up to the intellectual actors, not just the perpetrators of the attack in the field,” he said.

Yusril said he had coordinated with investigators at the Metro Jaya Regional Police and the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Directorate, who are still investigating the case. To date, the authorities have not provided updates on the investigation to the public.