TAUD Questions Replacement of TNI BAIS Head Following Andrie Yunus Case, Suspects Cover-Up
The Tim Advokasi untuk Demokrasi (TAUD) has questioned the replacement of the Head of the Indonesian National Armed Forces’ Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS TNI), which is claimed to be a form of accountability for the acid attack on the Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Andrie Yunus.
“We question the step of replacing the BAIS Head if that step is intended as a form of accountability,” stated the TAUD team in its official statement on Thursday (26/3/2026).
TAUD assesses that accountability for alleged human rights violations cannot be pinned on a single position alone.
In the hierarchical military structure, the chain of command involves many layers of leadership.
Accountability is deemed partial, selective, and does not touch all parties in the chain of command that should be examined.
“Such an approach has the potential to obscure accountability at higher levels, including command responsibility at the highest leadership level such as the TNI Commander up to civilian authorities in this case the Minister of Defence who should also be held accountable,” said TAUD.
In addition, TAUD emphasises that positional replacement cannot substitute for criminal legal processes.
If during the investigation involvement of superiors is found, whether through orders, approval, or negligence, those parties must be legally processed, not just removed from their positions.
“Removal from position without being followed by criminal accountability actually has the potential to become an internal mechanism that closes the space for accountability and strengthens impunity practices,” they asserted.
This refers to the provisions of Law Number 34 of 2004 on the Indonesian National Armed Forces.
According to TAUD, the case experienced by Andrie Yunus is an alleged serious criminal act that occurred in civilian space, outside the context of military duties.
“Therefore, there is no legitimate basis for bringing this case into military court jurisdiction. The use of military courts in this context actually has the potential to hinder transparency and reduce the independence of the judicial process,” they stressed.
Those involved in TAUD include the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta), AMAR Law Firm, LBH Pers, Greenpeace Indonesia, Trend Asia, and Imparsial.