MUI Urges Police to Swiftly Apprehend Attacker of Andrie Yunus

The deputy chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Anwar Abbas, has called upon police to promptly apprehend those responsible for pouring caustic acid on Andrie Yunus, deputy coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras).

Anwar stated that caustic acid exposure to the eyes and skin poses extremely high risks, causing permanent damage, severe irritation, and respiratory complications.

“We hereby request the police to apprehend the perpetrators as quickly as possible and process the case to be forwarded to the prosecution for trial and sentencing in accordance with applicable laws and regulations,” Abbas said in a written statement on Sunday, 15 March 2026.

Previously, Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra suspected the attack on Andrie Yunus was organised.

Yusril stated the pattern of attack indicated signs of planned and organised preparation. Therefore, law enforcement efforts must not cease at the level of the perpetrators on the ground.

“The pattern of attack appears to be planned and organised, so the investigation of this incident must not stop at the executor level, but must also uncover the intellectual actors behind it,” Yusril said in a written statement in Jakarta on Friday, 13 March 2025.

Consequently, Yusril requested law enforcement officials, particularly the Indonesian National Police (Polri), to conduct a thorough investigation of the case. Not merely identifying the perpetrators and their motives, but also uncovering who orchestrated the incident.

“I request law enforcement officials, particularly Polri, to ensure a complete investigation up to the intellectual actors, not merely the perpetrators of the ground-level attack,” he said.

Yusril revealed he had directly coordinated with the Metro Jaya Regional Police Chief and the Bareskrim Polri, who are jointly investigating the case. “They are currently conducting an in-depth investigation, so they cannot yet disclose anything to the public,” he said.

Andrie Yunus sustained burn injuries from being splashed with caustic acid by an unidentified person on Thursday night, 12 March 2026, at approximately 23:37 Western Indonesian Time on Jalan Salemba I Talang, Central Jakarta. Andrie was attacked by two individuals riding an automatic motorcycle as he was travelling home after recording a podcast at the YLBHI office titled “Remilitarisation and Judicial Review of the TNI Law”.