Facts from the Trial in the Acid Attack Case Involving Andrie Yunus
The continuation of the trial regarding the acid attack charges against KontraS activist Andrie Yunus was held at the Military Court II-08 on Wednesday (6/5).
During the proceedings, several facts emerged, from the type of corrosive liquid used to the inconsistencies in the defendants’ motives for attacking Andrie Yunus.
Four TNI members are on trial as defendants: Defendant I is Sergeant Two Edi Sudarko, Defendant II is First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi, Defendant III is Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetyo, and Defendant IV is First Lieutenant Sami Lakka.
CNNIndonesia.com has compiled the key facts from this continuation of the trial.
- The four defendants in the acid attack case were not on duty when Andrie Yunus interrupted the TNI Bill revision at the Fairmont Hotel
The panel of judges at the Military Court II-08 in Jakarta highlighted the inconsistency in the motive of resentment or personal vendetta by members of the TNI Strategic Intelligence Agency Headquarters Detachment (Denma BAIS) who carried out the acid attack on the Deputy External Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Andrie Yunus.
The reason is that the Denma BAIS members, now in the dock as defendants, were not on duty when Andrie, along with a coalition of civil society groups, interrupted the closed meeting on the TNI Bill at the Fairmont Hotel last March.
The judges also noted that the defendants had only joined Denma in November 2025. According to the judges, the motive of resentment or personal grudge is questionable, as the interruption at the Fairmont Hotel occurred 7-8 months earlier.
“What business do they have with Andrie Yunus? What business do they have with the TNI Bill? What business do they have with the judicial review application (JR TNI Bill) to the Constitutional Court? What correlation is there with them carrying out (the acid attack)? They’re just Denma soldiers,” asked the presiding judge, Colonel Chk Fredy Ferdian Isnartanto.
Pabandya D 31 Pampers Dit B BAIS TNI, Lieutenant Colonel Chk Alwi Hakim Nasution, who was presented as a witness, stated that based on the defendants’ confessions, the acid attack on Andrie was motivated by hurt feelings.
“Permission. Their confession to us was due to being hurt by seeing Andrie Yunus’s behaviour when he forced his way into the closed meeting (on the TNI Bill at the Fairmont Hotel), so the defendants felt hurt,” said Alwi.
“That’s not what I mean. They have no connection to AY [Andrie Yunus]. They didn’t know him initially, only knew him from TV, just like us. They never knew him, only from TV. Why suddenly carry out such an action? Did you investigate whether there was indeed an order?” the judge countered the answer and emphasised his statement again.
“No, Your Honour,” Alwi replied firmly.
“Was it possibly a special operation?” the judge continued.
“To our knowledge and investigation, there was none. The defendants simply felt insulted and hurt by Andrie Yunus. Nothing else,” Alwi answered.
- Andrie Yunus was doused with a mixture of rust remover and car battery acid
During the trial, it was revealed that the defendants admitted to dousing Andrie with a mixture of rust remover and car battery acid.
The judge requested that a chemistry expert be brought to the trial in the acid attack case against KontraS activist Andrie Yunus.
The judge deemed the testimony from the chemistry expert essential to verify the defendants’ admissions regarding the liquid used on Andrie.
The judge ordered the military prosecutor or legal counsel to present the chemistry expert to explain the contents of the liquid at the trial.
“Who is responsible for that, the prosecutor or the legal counsel, to bring them in. I request that they be brought in later for these liquids. The battery acid and what was it, rust remover. Now, if mixed, what does it contain, and then what is the reaction if it touches the skin, if it touches clothes,” the judge stated.
“So, an expert. We need an expert in the field. A chemistry expert, yes. Chemistry or acid expert. Yes, a chemistry expert,” the judge continued.
“Yes, Your Honour,” the prosecutor replied.
“Have you thought of that?” the judge asked.
“Yes, we have,” the prosecutor answered.
- Judge orders Andrie Yunus to be presented
The panel of judges at the Military Court II-08 in Jakarta ordered the Military Prosecutor II-07 Jakarta to present Andrie Yunus at the trial for the suspected acid attack on Wednesday, 13 May 2026.
In the proceedings, the judge considered the testimony from the Deputy External Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) to be very important and necessary as the victim.
The prosecutor stated that efforts would continue to bring Andrie to provide testimony at the trial, either in person or virtually. The judge then ordered the prosecutor to present Andrie at the hearing on Wednesday (13/5).
In the hearings held on 29 April and 6 May, Andrie Yunus was not yet able to attend as a victim witness due to ongoing physical and psychological medical treatment at RSCM.
- Motive of the defendants
Based on the indictment, the reason the defendants doused Andrie with acid was due to annoyance with Andrie’s frequent advocacy on militarism issues.
This included Andrie’s actions, along with a civil society coalition, in interrupting the closed meeting between the DPR and TNI regarding the TNI Bill discussion at the Fairmont Hotel in March 2025.
“Due to that incident, the defendants considered that Andrie Yunus had insulted the TNI institution, even trampling on the TNI institution,” the prosecutor stated when reading the indictment at a previous hearing.