Yusril Responds to Verdict in Andrie Yunus Case

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra has assessed that the prison sentences for four TNI personnel involved in the alleged abuse of Andrie Yunus represent judicial independence. He stated this independence is primarily seen in enforcing the law based on facts revealed during the trial without intervention from any party. “The government fully respects the decision handed down by the panel of judges,” Yusril said in Jakarta on Wednesday (10/6). In the alleged abuse case against Andrie, four defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from one year and six months to three years. The four defendants are Second Sergeant Edi Sudarko, sentenced to three years in prison; First Lieutenant (Lettu) Budhi Hariyanto Widhi, sentenced to two years and six months; Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetya, sentenced to two years; and First Lieutenant Sami Lakka, sentenced to one year and six months. In addition to the prison sentences, Edi and Budhi each received an additional penalty of dismissal from military service. Yusril opined that the legal considerations used by the panel of judges in reaching the verdicts demonstrated a careful assessment of the level of involvement and culpability of each defendant. Therefore, he appreciated the panel’s decision to impose varied sentences by considering the military prosecutor’s demands, in accordance with the seriousness of the defendants’ offences. He added that one decision was even ultra petita, or exceeded the prosecutor’s demand, namely by imposing a three-year prison sentence on one defendant when the initial demand for all four was two years and six months. “This is important so that it serves as a lesson for other TNI soldiers not to repeat similar criminal acts,” he said. In this case, the four TNI personnel were proven to have splashed acid on Andrie with the aim of teaching him a lesson and creating a “deterrent effect” to prevent him from disparaging the TNI institution. The actions by Andrie that the defendants viewed as insulting the TNI institution occurred on 16 March 2025, when the activist from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) forced his way in and staged an interruption during a meeting on the revision of the TNI Law in Jakarta. Other actions that angered the defendants included Andrie challenging the TNI Law at the Constitutional Court (MK), accusing the TNI of intimidation or terror at the KontraS office, and being the mastermind or actor behind the late August 2025 riots, as well as actively promoting anti-militarism narratives. Consequently, the actions of the TNI personnel, who planned to splash acid on Andrie knowing the chemical liquid could cause severe burns, were deemed inappropriate for members of the TNI. For their actions, the four defendants were found guilty of violating Article 467 paragraph (1) in conjunction with paragraph (2) in conjunction with Article 20 letter C of the National Criminal Code (KUHP).