Legal Expert Urges Trial of TNI Members in Acid Attack Case in General Court
Jakarta - A criminal law expert, Abdul Fickar Hadjar, believes that TNI members involved in general criminal offences can be tried in a general court, not a military court.
This opinion was expressed in response to the involvement of four members of the TNI’s Strategic Intelligence Agency (Bais) in the acid attack case against the Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Andrie Yunus.
Abdul’s view refers to Article 170 of Law No. 20 of 2025 on the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP).
“Yes, if there is connectivity in criminal acts involving parties subject to military courts and general courts, they can be tried in a general court,” Abdul said when contacted by Kompas.com on Wednesday (18/3/2026).
If it constitutes a general criminal offence or is not related to military matters, and is committed jointly by civilians and military personnel, the case can be examined through a connectivity mechanism in a general court.
The party that can determine whether TNI members involved in criminal acts can be tried in a general court is the connectivity team.
The connectivity team consists of civilian law enforcers, namely police and prosecutors, as well as military law enforcers, namely Military Police and military auditors (military prosecutors).
“It is this team that determines which court the trial will be held in based on the criminal act committed,” he emphasised.
Article 170 Paragraph (2) states, “In the event that the criminal act as referred to in paragraph (1) has a significant loss to military interests, the case must be examined and tried by a court within the military judiciary.”
Article 170 Paragraph (3) states, “The investigation of criminal cases as referred to in paragraph (1) shall be conducted jointly by Investigators and Indonesian National Army Military Police under the coordination of the Public Prosecutor and military auditors.”
Article 170 Paragraph (5) states, “The investigation as referred to in paragraph (3) shall be conducted in accordance with the law applicable to the investigation of criminal cases.”
It was previously reported that at least four Bais TNI members were involved in the acid attack case against Andrie Yunus. They are Captain NDP, Lieutenant SL, Lieutenant BHW, and Sergeant ES.
However, TNI’s Pushom has not yet disclosed the detailed roles of these four TNI personnel.
Nevertheless, two of the four personnel were the executors of the acid attack on Andrie Yunus.
Not only that, TNI has also not revealed the motive for the acid attack. This is because Pushom TNI only received the suspects on Wednesday (18/3/2026), thus requiring further investigation processes.