Transfer of Andrie Yunus Case Deemed to Violate KUHAP, Observer: Prosecution Must Seek Evidence Itself

Criminal-law analyst Abdul Fickar Hadjar has said that the transfer of the acid-attack case against Deputy Coordinator of KontraS, Andrie Yunus, from the police to the Indonesian Military Police Center (Puspom) of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) violates criminal procedural rules. According to Fickar, the Indonesian Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) does not recognise the mechanism of transferring cases or evidence from the police to another institution in contexts such as this. “Yes, that is a KUHAP violation, meaning the file sent is invalid and does not qualify as evidence,” Fickar told Kompas.com via WhatsApp, on Thursday (21 May 2026). In this context, he said, military prosecutors cannot simply request evidence from the police who previously handled the investigation. “There is no mechanism for inter-agency handover. The military prosecutor should seek the evidence themselves in proving the occurrence of an offence that should be tried in the military court,” he explained. Fickar also referred to Article 170(2) of Law Number 20 of 2025 on the new KUHAP, which states that the military court may try a case in full if military interests suffer a major loss. Therefore, Fickar argued that the TNI Law should be the primary reference for determining the jurisdiction of the court in the case. “The TNI Law, both old and new, provides that if military personnel commit a crime related to military matters, they are tried in the military court, whereas if military personnel commit a crime that is ordinary and not related to the military, they are tried in the general court,” he explained. Nevertheless, he noted that the revision of the Military Courts Law has not yet been enacted, leaving the boundary between ordinary and military crimes not clearly defined. The transfer of the case then prompted Andrie Yunus, through his legal team, to file a pre-trial challenge at the South Jakarta District Court. In his petition, Andrie asked the single judge to declare the transfer of the case invalid and to order the police to continue the investigation. “Order the respondent to continue the legal process regarding police report number LP/A/222/III/2026/Satreskrim/Restro Jakarta Pusat/Polda Metro Jaya dated 13 March 2026 and transfer the case to the public prosecutor no later than 14 days after this decision is read,” said Andrie’s legal counsel, Yosua Oktavian, in court on Wednesday (20 May 2026).