Defence Minister: Military Courts Could Impose Harsher Sentences
Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin has claimed that the legal mechanism operated through military courts carries very high value. His argument is that the military judiciary does not consider a soldier’s rank, from officers to enlisted personnel. The remarks were made as he responded to statements by Commission I member Tubagus Hasanuddin about crimes involving TNI soldiers, including the acid-attack on activist Andrie Yunus.
‘So, when we were talking earlier about the acid attack, the military judiciary can impose heavier penalties,’ Sjafrie said at a working meeting with Commission I of the DPR on Tuesday, 19 May 2026.
He said that there are military prosecutors in the Attorney General’s Office, and the Military Court in the Supreme Court. Therefore, the legal mechanism through the military judiciary can maintain its integrity.
He added that, according to records from the Ministry of Defence and the TNI, the legal process carried out through the military justice mechanism actually targets high-ranking officers, from one-star to three-star generals.
‘So, the military judiciary is not an absolute problem. There is a high-ranking officer currently serving a life sentence for violating military justice,’ said the former Commander of the Jakarta Raya Military Region.
Earlier, Commission I member Tubagus Hasanuddin highlighted the legal process conducted through the military justice mechanism. He reminded of Article 65(2) of Law No. 34 of 2004 on the TNI.
He explained that the article states ‘soldiers are subject to the authority of the military judiciary in cases of military criminal offenses, and subject to the jurisdiction of the general courts in cases of general criminal offenses.’
However, he said, the conditions at that time did not allow optimal implementation of Article 65 of the TNI Law in soldier prosecutions. Because Law No. 31 of 1997 on Military Justice still placed soldiers’ general criminal cases under the military courts.
Therefore, Hasanuddin proposed whether the Army Chief would be willing to allow changes to the current provisions.
‘We leave it to the Commander-in-Chief to decide whether it is possible for us to jointly amend these laws,’ the PDIP politician said.
According to KontraS data on military court verdicts in assault and homicide cases involving TNI soldiers from October 2023 to September 2025, there were 244 rulings with 262 defendants. The problem is that those verdicts tend to be lenient, with 10-month sentences appearing in 20 rulings involving 26 defendants; six months in 17 rulings involving 17 defendants; and three months in 20 rulings involving defendants.
Some examples of ordinary criminal cases involving TNI soldiers that were handled in military courts include the Supreme Court’s cassation against the sentences of two TNI-AL soldiers in the case of the shooting of a car rental boss. The Supreme Court reduced the life sentence to 15 years.
That cassation also lightened the sentence of another soldier, Sergeant First Class Rafsin Hermawan, who received a sentence reduction from four years to two years in prison.
A light sentence also occurred for Sergeant First Class Riza Pahlivi, the defendant in a case of assaulting a student to death. But the Military Court I-02 Medan sentenced Riza to 10 months in prison.
Editor’s Pick: The TAUD Investigation Team is Questioned as a Witness in the Andrie Yunus Case.