National Police Chief Gives Special Attention to Acid Attack Case Against KontraS Activist
National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo has given special attention to the acid attack case against Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of KontraS (Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence), which occurred in Central Jakarta on the evening of 12 March.
Head of Police Public Relations Irjen Johnny Eddizon Isir stated that the National Police Chief has ordered a thorough investigation and the swift arrest of the perpetrators.
“The Police Chief, as the leader of the National Police, has given special attention to the handling and investigation of this case,” Isir said during a press conference at his office in South Jakarta on 13 March.
Isir stated that investigators have conducted a crime scene investigation and interviewed several witnesses related to the acid attack. Additionally, investigators obtained closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the surrounding area and filed an initial police report as the basis for the investigation.
“The investigation concerns the criminal act of aggravated assault, as stipulated under Article 467(2) and/or Article 468(1) of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code,” he said.
He added that the National Police Chief has also ordered personnel from precinct level up to the Criminal Investigation Directorate to become involved and provide assistance.
“Backup has been provided both by the Metro Jaya Police and the Criminal Investigation Directorate, particularly from personnel at the National Police Headquarters,” he stated.
Previously, Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of KontraS, became the victim of an acid attack in the Central Jakarta area on the evening of 12 March. KontraS Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya stated that the incident occurred after Andrie Yunus attended a podcast event titled “Remilitarisation and Judicial Review in Indonesia” at the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI).
“He suffered an acid attack by unknown perpetrators, resulting in serious injuries across his body, particularly on both hands, face, chest, and eye area,” Dimas said in a written statement on 13 March.
Dimas stated that following the incident, Andrie was immediately taken to hospital for medical treatment. He noted that according to medical examination, Andrie suffered second-degree burns covering 24 per cent of his body.
According to CCTV footage, the incident occurred at approximately 23:30. Two men on a single motorcycle can be seen turning around and moving slowly. The passenger, not wearing a helmet, allegedly sprayed acid towards the victim as he passed on his motorcycle.
The victim immediately stopped, dropping his motorcycle and screaming in pain. Local residents approached to determine what had happened to the victim.
According to the timeline, Dimas stated the incident began when Andrie was riding his motorcycle on Jalan Salemba I–Talang in Central Jakarta. At that time, two perpetrators approached from the opposite direction on Jalan Talang (Talang Bridge) using a two-wheeled vehicle, allegedly a Honda Beat automatic motorcycle from 2016 to 2021.
“The perpetrators were two men who operated using a single motorcycle, each taking the role of driver and passenger,” he stated.
He described the first suspected perpetrator as wearing a white-and-blue combination t-shirt, dark trousers allegedly jeans, and a black helmet. The second perpetrator, the passenger, wore a black buff-like face covering concealing half of the face, a dark blue t-shirt, and long blue trousers folded short and allegedly made of jeans.
“One of the perpetrators then sprayed acid towards the victim, striking parts of the victim’s body. As a result of the attack, the victim immediately screamed in pain and dropped his motorcycle,” he explained.