Indictment in KontraS activist acid-spraying case postponed until 3 June

Jakarta’s Military Court II-08 has postponed the hearing in the case of four soldiers accused of pouring a corrosive liquid on KontraS activist Andrie Yunus during a meeting on revisions to the TNI Law at the Fairmont Hotel in March 2025. The indictment reading has been rescheduled for 3 June 2026, with the defence’s response or plea to be heard on 4 June 2026. The postponement was prompted by the prosecutor’s introduction of two additional expert witnesses from RSCM — plastic surgery specialist Dr Parintosa Atmodiwirjo and ophthalmologist Dr Faraby Martha. The defence team also requested time to present a criminal-law expert at the next hearing.

The presiding judge warned that repeated postponements could exhaust the suspects’ detention period and urged the parties to adhere to the new timetable. The defence’s criminal-law expert is to be examined on 2 June 2026, followed by the formal indictment reading on 3 June 2026 and the submission of the defence’s answers or pleas on 4 June 2026.

The accused are Sergeant 2 Edi Sudarko; Lieutenant 1 Budhi Hariyanto Widhi; Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetyo; and Lieutenant 1 Sami Lakka. They are charged with pouring a corrosive substance because they allegedly believed Andrie Yunus had insulted the TNI and demeaned the institution during the March 2025 meeting about the revision of the TNI law at the Fairmont Hotel. The charges fall under Article 469(1), subsidiarily with Article 468(1) and Article 467(1) juncto Article 20 letter C of Law No. 1 of 2023 concerning the Indonesian Penal Code.

Activist Andrie Yunus has not yet been able to attend the military court proceedings, due to ongoing medical treatment, according to the Tim Advokasi Untuk Demokrasi (TAUD) led by Muhamad Isnur.