Military Court Responds to Andrie Yunus's Legal Team's Report to the MA-KY

The Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD) has reported alleged breaches of the Code of Ethics and Behavioural Guidelines by the panel of judges of Military Court II-08 Jakarta, which is presiding over the acid-attack case involving Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of KontraS, to the Supreme Court (MA) and the Judicial Commission (KY), on Monday (18 May).

The Jakarta Military Court, through spokesperson Endah Wulandari, said that it is the right of the complainants to provide corrections to the military judges handling the case. “The report submitted by TAUD to MA is a right to provide corrections to us,” Endah said in a written message, on Tuesday (19 May).

Endah said she understood that in every case resolution there are parties who feel dissatisfied and whose interests are affected. Therefore, she regarded ethics reports as a channel for the public, especially the parties who are dissatisfied.

“The trial is currently ongoing; let us follow and monitor the process together, and avoid giving the public the impression that there are things that could compromise the independence of the courts,” she added.

“The trial will resume on 20 May 2026 with the agenda of the indictment by the Military Prosecution (Oditur Militer),” she added.

Earlier, TAUD reported alleged breaches of the ethics code by the panel of judges of Military Court II-08 Jakarta who were hearing the acid-attack case against Andrie Yunus on Monday (18/5).

TAUD listed several forms of violations by the panel of judges of Military Court II-08 Jakarta in the report. Among them were the judges handling evidence without gloves, a “goblok” (stupid) remark in court, and a coercive-looking attempt to summon Andrie Yunus to testify in person before the court.

“We feel this constitutes ethics violations as laid out in the Ethics Code and the Judges’ Behavioural Guidelines,” said Daniel Winarta of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) which is part of TAUD, at the MA Building, Jakarta, on Monday (18/5).

The three judges presiding over the case of the acid-attack against Andrie Yunus, as reported by TAUD, are Freddy Ferdian Isnartanto, Irwan Tasri, and Zainal Abidin.

“We call on the Supervisory Board of the Supreme Court, the Chair of the Supreme Court’s Supervisory Chamber, and the Judicial Commission to summon and examine the judges, issue written and oral reprimands, and also directly monitor the ongoing military trial,” he added.

Earlier, KY also admitted it was examining alleged ethics violations in the trial of four soldiers from the BAIS TNI detachment in the acid-attack case involving KontraS activist Andrie Yunus, which had garnered attention.

“The Judicial Commission opens up all possibilities for following up on the alleged Ethics Code and Judges’ Behavioural Guidelines violations,” said KY member Abhan when contacted on Tuesday (12/5).

KY, according to Abhan, has been attentive to the trial process. It has deployed a team since the second session on 6 May to monitor the proceedings. During the monitoring process, KY has noted several events of concern. Abhan said they will study them both textually and contextually.

Nevertheless, Abhan emphasised that KY would continue to respect judicial independence. At the same time, KY inherently has the authority to examine all judiciary work.

“The Judicial Commission will carry out further in-depth investigations; at present we cannot justify anything related to breaches of the Ethics Code and Judges’ Behavioural Guidelines,” he said.

So far, four BAIS TNI detachment soldiers have been prosecuted in connection with the acid attack on KontraS vice coordinator for External Affairs Andrie Yunus. They are Defendant I, Sergeant Edi Sudarko; Defendant II, First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi; Defendant III, Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetyo; and Defendant IV, First Lieutenant Sami Lakka.

According to the indictment, the defendants sprayed Andrie with acid out of frustration with Andrie’s habit of voicing issues related to militarism; including Andrie’s actions with a civilian coalition disrupting a closed-door meeting between the DPR (House of Representatives) and the TNI regarding the Military Bill discussions at the Fairmont Hotel in March 2025.

“With that incident, the defendants considered Mr. Andrie Yunus to have insulted the TNI, even to the extent of trampling on the TNI institution,” the prosecutor said when reading the indictment in the proceedings at Military Court II-08 Jakarta.

The defendants are charged under Article 469(1) subsidiarily Article 468(1) subsidiarily Article 467(1) in conjunction with Article 20 letter C of the Indonesian Penal Code, Law Number 1 of 2023.”