Four TNI personnel charged with dousing Andrie Yunus to create a "deterrent effect"

Jakarta - Four personnel from the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) have been charged with dousing Deputy Coordinator of KontraS Andrie Yunus with caustic liquid to deliver a lesson and create a “deterrent effect” so that he would not disparage the TNI institution. The four defendants are Sergeant Two Edi Sudarko, First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi, Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetya, and First Lieutenant Sami Lakka. “The defendants considered that Andrie Yunus had insulted the TNI institution and even trampled on the TNI institution,” stated Military Prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Corps of Law (Chk) TNI Muhammad Iswadi during the indictment reading at the Military Court II-08 Jakarta on Wednesday. The military prosecutor explained that the attitude of Andrie, deemed by the defendants to have insulted the TNI institution, occurred on 16 March 2025 when Andrie forced his way in and interrupted a meeting on the revision of the TNI Law in Jakarta. Other actions that angered the defendants included Andrie suing the TNI Law at the Constitutional Court (MK), accusing the TNI of intimidating or terrorising the KontraS office, being the mastermind or actor in the tragedy of the riots at the end of August 2025, and vigorously promoting an anti-militarism narrative. Therefore, the military prosecutor assessed that the actions of the defendants, who had planned to douse Andrie with caustic liquid known to cause severe burns, were inappropriate conduct for TNI members. For their actions, the four defendants face penalties under Article 469 paragraph (1) or Article 468 paragraph (1) or Article 467 paragraph (1) in conjunction with paragraph (2) jo. Article 20 letter C of the National Criminal Code (KUHP). During a conversation, Edi shared a viral video of Andrie forcing entry and interrupting the TNI Law revision meeting with Budhi. Then, on 11 March 2026, when the four defendants met, Edi expressed his anger towards Andrie for forcing his way into the TNI Law revision meeting room and considered that Andrie had trampled on the TNI institution by suing the TNI Law at the MK. Additionally, Edi viewed Andrie as having accused the TNI of intimidating or carrying out terror at the KontraS office and as being the mastermind or actor in the tragedy of the riots at the end of August 2025. Andrie was also seen as vigorously promoting an anti-militarism narrative, leading Edi to say he wanted to punch Andrie as a lesson and deterrent effect. However, it was mentioned that Budhi suggested not punching Andrie but dousing him with rust cleaner instead. “Subsequently, Edi searched for information via Google about Andrie’s activities, where the results showed that the KontraS activist had a routine event, namely the Kamisan event at Monas,” said the military prosecutor. On 12 March 2026, the military prosecutor revealed that the defendants went to Monas but did not find Andrie. Then, the defendants continued searching for Andrie elsewhere, and upon arriving in the Tugu Tani area, Edi and Budhi separated from Nandala and Sami. Nandala then saw Andrie riding a yellow motorcycle leaving the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and reported it to the other defendants. Exactly at the intersection of Jalan Salemba I and Jalan Talang in Central Jakarta, the motorcycles of Edi and Budhi proceeded against traffic towards Andrie’s motorcycle. As Budhi’s motorcycle slowed down while waiting for Andrie to approach, the military prosecutor stated that Edi immediately doused the chemical liquid onto Andrie’s body when they passed each other, which also splashed onto Edi. Edi then dropped the bottle containing the caustic liquid and immediately left the scene straight towards Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM), while Nandala and Sami rode their motorcycle towards Pramuka road to the Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) TNI headquarters. Meanwhile, the military prosecutor said that about 20 metres from the scene of the incident (TKP), Andrie felt a burning sensation due to the reaction from the chemical liquid doused on him, causing Andrie to drop his motorcycle while shouting for help, placing his bag down, and removing his jacket and shirt. “Andrie Yunus’s condition was red like blood, so people nearby helped by providing mineral water, and then Andrie washed his face,” the military prosecutor added.