JakartaPost-Mar 17
A civil society coalition has urged police to investigate the acid attack on rights activist Andrie Yunus of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) as a premeditated murder attempt, as authorities begin probing the case under provisions related to severe abuse. Four days after the attack, the 27-year-old activist remains under intensive medical care at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta. He suffered serious injuries, mainly to the right side of his face, though his condition has stabilized, according to Kontras impunity monitoring division head Jane Rosalina. Jane said at a press briefing on Monday that an analysis by a civil society coalition known as the Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD) found strong indications that the assault was a “planned and organized murder attempt.” The attackers deliberately targeted Andrie’s face, she said, an act that could have been fatal by disrupting his respiratory system. “Therefore, the attack was not just an ordinary crime,” Jane said at the office of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), adding that the assault appeared to be aimed at silencing Andrie’s work as a human rights defender. Andrie has been outspoken in criticizing the growing involvement of the military in civilian affairs in Indonesia. He had just finished recording a podcast on the topic when two unidentified men splashed acid on him as he rode home along in Central Jakarta shortly before midnight on Thursday. Police, which has formed on Monday a joint investigative team comprising officers from the Jakarta Police, the Central Jakarta Police and the National Police, are currently investigating the case under articles on severe abuse in the new Criminal Code (KUHP). They carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison if the assault results in serious injury. Jakarta Police general crimes director Sr. Comr. Iman Imanuddin said investigators are searching for four individuals believed to have followed Andrie near the scene of the attack. Police have collected more than 2,000 images and around 10,000 minutes of surveillance footage from 86 security cameras in and around the crime scene. Read more at:
https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2026/03/17/rights-coalition-urges-premeditated-murder-probe-in-acid-attack-on-kontras-ctivist.html?utm_source=(direct)&utm_medium=home_headlines.
