Police Investigate Acid Attack on KontraS Activist
Police have begun investigating the acid attack against Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of KontraS, which took place in the Salemba area of Central Jakarta.
Kombes Budi Hermanto, Head of Public Relations for the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, stated that the case is currently being processed by the Criminal Investigation Division of Central Jakarta Police.
He noted that crime scene investigation and witness examination have already been conducted. “The case is currently being examined by the Criminal Investigation Division of Central Jakarta Police, who are examining witnesses and the crime scene. We all condemn this incident,” he told reporters on Friday (13 March).
Similar statements were made by AKBP Roby Heri Saputra, Chief of the Criminal Investigation Division of Central Jakarta Police. He confirmed the acid attack incident, though the victim had not yet filed an official police report.
“There has been no formal report from the victim yet, however we are conducting an investigation to identify the perpetrators through scientific investigation, including CCTV examination,” he explained.
Previously, Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), was attacked with acid in Central Jakarta on Thursday evening (12 March).
KontraS Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya stated that the incident occurred after Yunus attended a podcast event titled “Remilitarisation and Judicial Review in Indonesia” at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) offices at approximately 23:00 WIB.
“He suffered an acid attack by an unknown assailant, resulting in serious injuries across his body, particularly on both hands, face, chest, and eye area,” he said in a written statement on Friday (13 March).
Dimas said that following the incident, Andrie was immediately taken to hospital for medical treatment. He noted that medical examination determined Andrie had suffered burns covering 24 per cent of his body.
“From the medical examination, Andrie suffered burns covering 24 per cent,” he stated.
According to the timeline provided by Dimas, the incident began when Andrie was riding his motorcycle along Jalan Salemba I - Talang in Central Jakarta.
Two assailants approached from the opposite direction along Jalan Talang (Talang Bridge) on a two-wheeled vehicle, believed to be a Honda Beat automatic motorcycle from 2016 to 2021.
“The perpetrators were two males who carried out the operation using a single motorcycle, each playing the role of driver and passenger,” he explained.
He described the first suspect as wearing white-blue combination clothing, dark trousers believed to be jeans, and a black helmet.
The second perpetrator, the passenger, wore a black buff-like face covering that concealed half the face, dark blue shirt, and blue trousers folded at the ankles, believed to be denim.
“One perpetrator then sprayed acid towards the victim, hitting parts of his body. As a result of the attack, the victim immediately cried out in pain and dropped his motorcycle,” he said.