Three Weeks into Andrie Yunus Terror Case, Motive Remains Undisclosed

The motive of the suspects who carried out the acid attack terror against Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of KontraS, has yet to be revealed. Andrie became the victim of the acid splashing on Thursday night (12/3). KontraS Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya stated that the incident occurred after Andrie Yunus attended a podcast event titled “Remilitarism and Judicial Review in Indonesia” at the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), around 23:00 WIB. “He was attacked with acid splashing by unknown persons (OTK), resulting in serious injuries across his body, particularly on his right and left hands, face, chest, and eyes,” he said in a written statement on Friday (13/3). Less than a week later, on Wednesday (18/3), TNI’s Central Military Police Corps (Puspom TNI) apprehended four members suspected of involvement in the incident. The four are NDP, a captain; SL and BHW, both first lieutenants; and ES, a second sergeant. They are assigned to the Detachment Headquarters of the Strategic Intelligence Agency (Denma BAIS) TNI, from the Navy and Air Force branches. On the same day, Metro Jaya Police revealed two suspected perpetrators of the acid attack on Andrie. The two have different initials from those disclosed by Puspom TNI. According to Metro Jaya Police, the initials of the two suspects are BHC and MAK, with the possibility of more than two perpetrators. Both TNI and Police refrained from disclosing the motive of the perpetrators at that time. Subsequently, Metro Jaya Police handed over the handling of the acid attack case against Andrie Yunus to Puspom TNI. Head of Criminal Investigation at Metro Jaya Police, Commissioner Iman Imanuddin, said that after receiving the report of the incident, they immediately conducted an investigation. Based on the investigation facts, the police then handed over the case handling to Puspom TNI due to the involvement of TNI members. Iman stated that the police also found no civilian involvement in the incident. “From the results of the investigation, after we found facts from the investigation results, we can now report to the leadership that the matter has been handed over to Puspom TNI,” Iman said during a hearing with Commission III of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Tuesday (31/3). On the same day, TNI provided an update on the case. TNI stated that the four members involved in the case have been designated as suspects and have been detained at the military detention facility of the Jakarta Military Region Command (Pomdam Jaya) Guntur since 18 March 2026. TNI’s Head of Information Centre (Kapuspen), Major General Aulia Dwi Nasrullah, said the article applied to the suspects is the assault article. He explained that on 19 March, Puspom TNI investigators attempted to confirm and request a statement from Andrie, but the doctor had not permitted it due to health reasons. Then on 25 March, Puspom TNI received a letter from the Head of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) stating that witness Andrie is under LPSK protection. “The Commander of Puspom TNI has sent a letter to the Head of LPSK regarding the request to obtain a statement from the victim witness AY. TNI is committed to carrying out law enforcement processes openly, professionally, and accountably,” said Aulia. Now, around three weeks or since 14 March to 2 April, in the case, the motive of the perpetrators for carrying out the terror has not been uncovered.