LBH Jakarta Suspects Intellectual Mastermind Behind Acid Attack on Andrie
The Director of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), M. Fadhil Alfathan Nazwa, has alleged that there is an intellectual mastermind behind the acid attack on Andrie Yunus, deputy coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS).
“Because this was carried out with good collaboration and coordination, we also believe there is an alleged intellectual mastermind. There is someone who serves as the planner, who is not on the ground but has the capacity to determine the attack, make decisions, and lead the coordination carried out by field perpetrators and others involved,” Fadhil stated during a press conference at the offices of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) in Central Jakarta on Monday (16 March).
“For this reason, we are calling on law enforcement, specifically investigators, to direct their investigation orientation not only at field perpetrators but also at all perpetrators involved and those suspected as intellectual masterminds,” he added.
Fadhil, who is part of the Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD), criticised police for choosing to apply Article 467 paragraph 2 or Article 468 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code regarding assault with premeditation.
According to him, police should apply provisions concerning premeditated attempted murder. In the New Criminal Code, this is outlined in Article 459, whereby premeditated murder carries the death penalty. Premeditated attempted murder can result in a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment in accordance with Article 17 paragraph 4.
“We have also conducted discussions with various experts from different disciplines, including criminal law experts and practitioners as well as forensic medical experts and medicolegal practitioners. On this basis, our preliminary conclusion is that the attack on our colleague Andrie Yunus constitutes premeditated attempted murder,” Fadhil said.
Meanwhile, on the same day, Metro Jaya Police held a press conference to announce the latest developments in handling the acid attack case.
Police suspect that the acid attack on Andrie involved four individuals.
This is based on analysis of 86 CCTV cameras and 2,610 video recordings with a combined duration of 10,320 minutes during the police investigation process.
Director of General Criminal Investigation at Metro Jaya Police, Senior Commissioner Iman Imanuddin, stated that the CCTV recordings showed the four suspected perpetrators waiting for the victim in front of KFC Cikini in Central Jakarta.
“Four suspected perpetrators using two motorcycles are believed to have waited for the victim in front of KFC Cikini,” Iman said during a press conference at Metro Jaya Police headquarters on Monday (16 March).
Andrie Yunus became a victim of an acid attack by unknown assailants that resulted in serious injuries across his body, particularly on both hands, face, chest, and eyes.
The incident occurred shortly after Andrie finished recording a podcast at the YLBHI offices titled “Remilitarisation and Judicial Review in Indonesia” at approximately 23:00 Western Indonesian Time on Thursday (12 March).
Following the incident, Andrie was immediately taken to a hospital for medical treatment. Upon examination, Andrie suffered burns affecting 24 per cent of his body. His right eye was the most severely affected area.