UN Urges Indonesia to Investigate Attack on Human Rights Defender Andrie Yunus
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor has urged Indonesia to conduct a thorough investigation into the acid attack against Andrie Yunus, Vice Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS).
In a post on the social media platform X on Friday, 13 March 2026, Lawlor expressed concern about the attack on Yunus, a human rights activist, by unknown assailants. She stressed that impunity for perpetrators of violence against human rights defenders was unacceptable. “I call on Indonesian authorities to thoroughly investigate this horrific attack. Impunity for violence against human rights defenders is not acceptable,” Lawlor stated through her account @MaryLawlorhrds.
In her appeal, Lawlor also tagged the X accounts of Indonesia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, @IndonesiaGeneva, and the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, @Kemlu_RI.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra previously stated that the acid attack on Andrie Yunus constituted an assault on democratic values and human rights enforcement in Indonesia.
Yusril requested law enforcement authorities, particularly the National Police (Polri), to investigate the case thoroughly. He stated that law enforcement must not only identify the perpetrators and their motives, but also uncover who was behind the incident.
According to Yusril, the pattern of the attack indicated signs of organised planning, meaning the law enforcement process must not stop at the perpetrators on the ground. “I urge law enforcement authorities, particularly Polri, to ensure a complete investigation extending to the intellectual architects, not just the perpetrators of the attack on the ground,” Yusril stated in a written statement on 13 March 2026.
Andrie Yunus was attacked with acid whilst on Jalan Salemba I-Talang in Central Jakarta on Thursday evening, 12 March 2026. Two unknown individuals on a motorcycle attacked him with a corrosive chemical solution. The attackers were riding a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction.
KontraS Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya stated that the perpetrators sprayed acid onto the front of Yunus’s body. Yunus then collapsed on the road. “The victim immediately screamed in pain and dropped his motorcycle,” said Dimas on Friday, 13 March 2026.
Dimas recounted that prior to the attack, Andrie had just finished recording a podcast titled “Remilitarisation and Judicial Review in Indonesia” at the office of the Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) in Central Jakarta at around 11:00 PM on Thursday evening. He then stopped at a petrol station in the Cikini area, Central Jakarta, before continuing his journey on his motorcycle.
At approximately 11:37 PM, two suspected men riding an automatic motorcycle approached Andrie and sprayed acid at him. The corrosive chemical liquid struck the right side of his body, including his eyes, face, chest, and hands.
Part of the victim’s clothing also melted from contact with the acid. Medical examination results showed Andrie sustained serious burns covering 24 per cent of his body. The victim cried out in pain and mentioned the acid, prompting nearby residents to come to his aid.
The perpetrators dropped a stainless steel glass whilst attempting to flee. They allegedly escaped in the direction of Jalan Salemba Raya in Central Jakarta. At the time this report was written, Andrie Yunus remained in intensive care at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM).