Four TNI Soldiers Involved in Acid Attack, Civil Coalition Demands Accountability
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform has urged accountability for the acid attack on human rights defender and Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Andrie Yunus.
It is known that four TNI soldiers are suspected of being involved in the acid attack on Andrie Yunus.
“Considering the initial indications of the field perpetrators involved, the Head of BAIS, the TNI Commander, and the Minister of Defence should not wash their hands of and evade responsibility for this incident,” as quoted from the official statement received by Kompas.com on Wednesday (18/3/2026).
In addition, the Coalition is also pushing for an evaluation of the performance of the TNI Commander and the Head of TNI’s BAIS, given that four of their members committed violence against civilians.
Both also need to be evaluated in relation to the August 2025 demonstration unrest that was previously triggered by statements from several members of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) and officials.
“Therefore, civilian authorities should immediately evaluate the positions of the Head of BAIS and the TNI Commander, as they can be considered to have failed in controlling their members, resulting in both incidents,” the Coalition continued.
This is to ensure accountability and responsibility from the perpetrators for their actions.
Furthermore, the Civil Coalition also demands that the investigation into the case does not stop at the field perpetrators, but uncovers the intellectual actors behind this violent incident.
Several non-profit organisations from the civil sector are united in this coalition, including: IMPARSIAL, Centra Initiative, YLBHI, KontraS, Amnesty International Indonesia, WALHI, DeJure, Raksha Initiatives, ICJR, LBH Jakarta, HRWG, KPI, ICW, LBH Apik Jakarta, AJI Indonesia, LBH Pers, PBHI, Indonesia RISK Center, LBH Masyarakat.
“This morning I received that four people suspected of being the suspects carried out the assault on brother Andri Yunus,” said the TNI Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Police, Major General (Mayjen) TNI Yusri Nuryanto, during a press conference at TNI Headquarters, Jakarta, on Wednesday.
In this regard, Yusri revealed the initials and ranks of the perpetrators. “Captain NDP, Lieutenant SL, Lieutenant BHW, and Sergeant ES,” he revealed.
The four soldiers have been secured and detained at the Jaya Military Police Command. Nevertheless, Yusri has not announced the roles and motives of the acid attack on the activist.