PSHK: Andrie Yunus Case Constitutes General Criminal Offence, Not Military

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Center for Law and Policy Studies (PSHK) assesses that the case of the alleged planned attempted murder of Deputy Coordinator of KontraS Andrie Yunus constitutes a general criminal offence that should be tried in a general court. PSHK Executive Director Rizky Argama stated that dousing a human rights activist with acid in a public space is not a criminal act related to military functions or duties, and thus should not be tried in a military court. “There are no elements of military discipline, breach of service obligations, or crimes stemming from military functions and duties,” Rizky said when contacted in Jakarta on Thursday. Accordingly, he said, the case is entirely a general criminal offence committed by an individual who happens to hold the status of a member of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI). Rizky urged the President to ensure that the entire legal process for the Andrie case, including prosecution and trial, is handed over to and fully carried out by general judicial institutions under the authority of an independent judiciary. It is stated that the principle of functional jurisdiction determines the judicial forum for military personnel based on the nature of the criminal act committed, not solely on the perpetrator’s status as an active military member. He conveyed that the doctrine of functional jurisdiction has developed and is widely accepted in international law as well as practices in other countries. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR Court), for example, has affirmed that military jurisdiction should not be extended to criminal acts that have no direct connection to military functions. Furthermore, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has affirmed in General Comment Number 32 (paragraph 22) that military court jurisdiction must be strictly limited and not used for general criminal cases, especially those involving civilians. “Dousing an activist with acid is clearly not one of them,” he stated. In addition, he explained that Indonesia’s positive legal construction also points towards the same principle, although it has not yet been fully implemented. He cited Article 3 paragraph (4) of the Decree of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) RI Number VII/MPR/2000, which states that TNI soldiers are subject to general courts for general criminal law violations. Furthermore, he added that Article 65 paragraph (2) of Law Number 34 of 2004 on the TNI aligns with and regulates the same matter. Therefore, Rizky opined that both regulations adopt the principle of functional jurisdiction, where the judicial environment is determined based on the type of criminal act, not the perpetrator’s status. Previously, four members of the TNI Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), namely Captain TNI NDP, First Lieutenant TNI SL, First Lieutenant TNI BHW, and Second Sergeant TNI ES, have been named as suspects in the acid dousing against Andrie. To date, the four suspected perpetrators are still undergoing examination by the TNI’s internal investigation team. As a result of the investigation into the case, the position of Head of BAIS TNI, held by Lieutenant General TNI Yudi Abrimantyo, has been relinquished.