Expert at Trial: Intelligence Operations Leave No Traces, Andrie Yunus Case Not Part of TNI

JAKARTA – Retired Rear Admiral Soleman B. Ponto, former Head of the TNI’s Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), stated that the acid splashing incident against KontraS activist Andrie Yunus was not part of any military or intelligence operation.

Ponto made this statement while appearing as a military expert witness in the trial of the case at the Military Court II-08 in Jakarta on Thursday (7/5/2026).

He highlighted that in the acid splashing case against Andrie Yunus, the defendants actually left behind several pieces of evidence, such as the tumbler bottle used to store the acid.

According to Ponto, this indicates that the action was not part of an intelligence operation, but rather an individual act.

“If an intelligence operation is truly carried out as I mentioned earlier, then Andrie would evaporate if not sublimate,” he said.

Previously, four Indonesian National Army (TNI) personnel were charged with splashing acid on KontraS Deputy Coordinator Andrie Yunus in the Central Jakarta area.

The four defendants are Sergeant Two Edi Sudarko, First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi, Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetya, and First Lieutenant Sami Lakka.

In the indictment, the motive of the defendants was stated to be due to feeling offended by Andrie Yunus’s interruption at the Fairmont Jakarta Hotel on 16 March 2025.

“The defendants considered that Andrie Yunus had insulted the TNI institution and even trampled on the TNI institution,” said Military Auditor Lieutenant Colonel Corps of Law (Chk) TNI Muhammad Iswadi in the trial at the Military Court II-08 Jakarta on Wednesday.

The four defendants are charged with multiple articles, namely Article 469 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code as the primary charge, Article 468 paragraph (1) as subsidiary, and Articles 467 paragraphs (1) and (2) as further subsidiary, in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of Law Number 1 of 2023.