Minister Pigai on Andrie Yunus Acid Attack Verdict: Once Sentenced, It Cannot Be Challenged

Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai has stated he respects the verdict handed down by the Jakarta Military Court II-08 against the perpetrators of an acid attack on KontraS Deputy Coordinator Andrie Yunus. “As good citizens, that is a court ruling and the law regulates it, so everyone must obediently comply with the law,” Pigai told reporters at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday, 17 June 2026. Pigai assessed that the verdict issued by the Military Court must not be challenged. “It has been sentenced, right? If it has been sentenced, we cannot oppose the court’s ruling as citizens,” he explained. Previously, the Jakarta Military Court II-08 sentenced four Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) soldiers to prison terms ranging from 1 year and 6 months to 3 years after they were found guilty of assaulting Andrie Yunus. Specifically, Second Sergeant Edi Sudarko was sentenced to 3 years in prison, First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi to 2 years and 6 months, Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetya to 2 years, and First Lieutenant Sami Lakka to 1 year and 6 months. “The defendants have been legally and convincingly proven guilty of committing a criminal act as per the more subsidiary indictment, participating in an assault resulting in serious injury with prior planning,” said presiding judge Colonel Fredy Ferdian Isnartanto of the Legal Corps when reading the verdict at the Jakarta Military Court II-08 on Wednesday, 10 June 2026. In addition to prison sentences, the panel of judges also imposed an additional penalty of dismissal from military service for Second Sergeant Edi and First Lieutenant Budhi, as they were identified as the masterminds behind the acid attack. The four TNI personnel were proven to have thrown acid at activist Andrie Yunus with the intention of teaching him a lesson and creating a deterrent effect to prevent him from disparaging the TNI institution.