Terror Against Activist Andrie Yunus Described as Mere Mischief...

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Four defendants accused of dousing KontraS activist Andrie Yunus with acid are said to have committed an act that amounts to mere mischief, not a military operation or intelligence operation.

This was stated by former Head of the TNI’s Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), Laksamana Muda (Ret.) Soleman B. Ponto, while serving as an expert witness in the trial at the Military Court II-08 Jakarta on Thursday (7/5/2026).

In the acid dousing case against Andrie Yunus, there is involvement from BAIS TNI members, namely Sersan Dua Edi Sudarko, Letnan Satu (Lettu) Budhi Hariyanto Widhi, Kapten Nandala Dwi Prasetya, and Lettu Sami Lakka.

“So, looking at this, it doesn’t qualify as an intelligence operation at all. If I were the Kabais at the time, or even now if I were their superior, I would just see it as mischief. We would view it as mischief,” Ponto said during the trial.

According to Ponto, intelligence operations are not carried out spontaneously, emotionally, or without command.

“Because for us, intelligence operations leave no traces. They are trained for, the personnel are selected, we train every six months. Why? Because the goal is strategic for the nation,” he explained.

In the acid dousing case, the defendants left behind several pieces of evidence, such as a tumbler bottle used to store the acid.

According to Ponto, this shows that the action was not part of an intelligence operation, but rather an individual act.

Ponto also raised the possibility of a double agent within BAIS TNI related to the acid dousing case against Andrie Yunus.

“Could outsiders, in this case non-BAIS TNI personnel, use BAIS TNI personnel in this Denma unit? Yes or no? That’s all from the expert witness,” asked member judge Letnan Kolonel Kum Irwan Tasri.

“So, members in the Denma unit being used by others? Yes, it’s possible. There are double agents. In intelligence, the existence of double agents is not denied. So, it could happen,” Ponto replied.

“Well, that depends on the examination whether in this examination it can be proven that there is a double agent. Whether he is connected to others who might together have a grudge against Andrie and use their hands, that could be possible,” Ponto explained.

In addition, the four defendants in the acid dousing case against Andrie Yunus are deemed still suitable to be TNI soldiers from a psychological perspective.