Revealed in Court: Chronology and Motive Behind the Sulphuric Acid Attack on Andrie Yunus

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Four members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS TNI) underwent the first hearing in the alleged sulphuric acid attack case against Andrie Yunus, Vice Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), at the Military Court II-08 in Jakarta on Wednesday (29/4/2026). The four defendants—Serda Edi Sudarko, Lettu Budhi Hariyanto Widhi, Kapten Nandala Dwi Prasetia, and Lettu Sami Lakka—were presented for the first time in the open courtroom. They appeared wearing field uniforms without rank insignia on their shoulders and wearing caps during the reading of the indictment. Subsidiary charge: Article 468 Paragraph (1) of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of Law No. 1 of 2023. Further subsidiary: Article 467 Paragraph (1) in conjunction with Paragraph (2) of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of Law No. 1 of 2023. During the trial, military prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Chk Muhammad Iswadi revealed the initial motive behind the sulphuric acid attack on Andrie Yunus. The defendants considered the victim’s actions as a form of harassment against the TNI institution. “That the defendants knew Brother Andrie Yunus since 16 March 2025 when he forced entry and interrupted at the Fairmont Jakarta hotel,” stated Military Prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Chk Muhammad Iswadi at the Military Court II-08 on Wednesday. “With that incident, the defendants viewed Brother Andrie Yunus as having insulted the TNI institution, even trampling on the TNI institution,” he continued. The prosecutor explained that the series of events began on Monday (9/3/2026) around 13:00 WIB when Serda Edi Sudarko met Lettu Budhi Hariyanto at the Al Ikhlas Mosque of BAIS TNI. “Edi said he wanted to beat Andrie Yunus as a lesson and as a deterrent effect, but Budhi said, ‘don’t beat him but just splash him with rust cleaner liquid’,” Iswadi recounted. This proposal was then agreed upon. Edi was said to be willing to be the executor of the splashing, while Budhi and Nandala Dwi Prasetia were involved in planning the action. “At that time, Edi searched for information via Google regarding Andrie Yunus’s activities, with the result that Andrie Yunus had a routine event, namely the Kamisan event at Monas,” Iswadi continued. Subsequently, Nandala Dwi Prasetia divided the roles among the defendants. Edi and Budhi were tasked with searching for the victim at the KontraS office, while Nandala and Sami moved to YLBHI.