Judge Deems Defendant's Method of Throwing Acid on Andrie Yunus Amateurish

The presiding judge of the Jakarta Military Court described the four defendants in the acid-throwing case against KontraS activist Andrie Yunus as ‘stupid’. The judge also stated that their actions were embarrassing to the TNI’s Bais institution.

The continuation of the trial in the acid-throwing case against Andrie Yunus was held at the Jakarta Military Court on Wednesday (6/5/2026). The four defendants in this case are defendant I Sergeant Two Edi Sudarko, defendant II First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi, defendant III Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetyo, and defendant IV First Lieutenant Sami Lakka.

Initially, the military prosecutor presented evidence of a drinking container or tumbler used to throw the acid at Andrie. The prosecutor said the tumbler was filled by the defendant with a mixture of rust cleaner and battery fluid.

“Is that the tumbler used? Did it have a lid?” asked the presiding judge, Colonel Chk Fredy Ferdian Isnartanto.

“It’s no longer there,” replied the prosecutor.

The judge asked the defendants who held and threw the liquid from the tumbler at Andrie. The defendants said the tumbler still had its lid during the throwing.

The judge then asked the reason the defendants used a tumbler to throw at Andrie. The judge asked why they did not use another bottle.

“Why choose a tumbler to throw with?” asked the judge.

“That’s the only one available,” replied the defendant.

The judge then called the defendants ‘stupid’. The judge said attacks should only be carried out against enemies, not victims.

“Well, if this is opened, the hole is big, I say ‘how stupid’, using a tumbler with such a wide mouth, it would splash, like using a glass. If it had a small tip, right? Against an enemy, not to this one,” said the judge.

Judge Calls Defendants Embarrassing to TNI Bais

The judge also expressed frustration with the defendants’ actions. The judge said the defendants’ actions made the institution ashamed.

“I’m not intelligence, not an intel person. Maybe the friends here, the soldiers too, seeing that, as the legal advisor said earlier, Colonel who, so amateurish. It makes me annoyed seeing it. If it were us, just assign someone, no need to be meticulous, no need for parental permission, this is embarrassing to Bais, in quotes embarrassing to Bais. Why is the method so bad, messy, in your opinion, is this how Bais people work?” said the judge.

The Head of Denma Bais TNI, Colonel Inf Heri Heryadi, was about to answer. However, the judge interrupted and called them stupid again.

“Personally, I also say this is so stupid,” said the judge.

“We personally, because our daily routine in Denma does not handle external matters, especially like this. We all focus on services, perhaps including the defendants who daily handle services,” said Heri.

The judge then made an analogy of soldiers performing tasks outside their daily routines. He said TNI soldiers should not carry out actions as alleged against the defendants.

“Well, not like that, we use the nice play first, how, oh there’s CCTV, oh wear a jacket, wear a mask, wear a face covering. Why in the middle of the road without a helmet, without this. Ah, it becomes a joke. Even I, who is not in a combat unit, understand that. This is just brainstorming, it annoys me seeing it. This is a personal opinion, we can’t opine that this is legal fact,” he said.

Previously, the prosecutor charged the four TNI soldiers with throwing acid at Andrie Yunus. The military prosecutor said the defendants carried out the action because they were annoyed with Andrie.

The prosecutor said the defendants learned of Andrie on 16 March 2025 when Andrie entered and interrupted a meeting discussing revisions to the TNI Law held by the DPR at the Fairmont Hotel, South Jakarta. The defendants considered Andrie’s actions to have insulted the TNI institution.

“With that incident, the defendants considered brother Andrie Yunus to have insulted the TNI institution, even stepping on the TNI institution,” said the prosecutor when reading the indictment.

In short, the defendants sought information about Andrie Yunus’s activities. They divided tasks when carrying out the throwing.

The prosecutor charged the four soldiers with violating Article 469 paragraph 1 subsidiary Article 468 paragraph 1 further subsidiary Article 467 paragraph 1 in conjunction with paragraph 2 in conjunction with Article 20 letter C of Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code.