Indonesian military officers jailed for acid attack on activist

An Indonesian military court jailed four officers for an acid attack on rights activist Andrie Yunus, a ruling that closes one case but leaves open a larger question: whether Indonesia’s military justice system is capable of holding its own personnel to account. The panel led by Col. Fredy Ferdian Isnartanto found the men guilty of serious premeditated assault and handed down prison terms of three years, two and a half years, two years and one and a half years.

The defendants, Sami Lakka, Nandala Dwi Prasetya, Budhi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono and Edi Sudarko, were identified as members of the military’s Strategic Intelligence Agency. The first two were also dishonorably discharged. Prosecutors had sought a maximum sentence of 12 years, a sign of how seriously they treated the assault on a prominent critic tied to KontraS, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence.

Yunus, 27, was attacked on March 12, 2026, in Central Jakarta, soon after recording a podcast on the militarisation of civil and political affairs in Indonesia. Human rights groups said two men on a motorcycle threw acid at him after he left the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation office in the Menteng area and fled. UN experts said the attack caused severe and permanent injuries requiring long-term treatment, including burns to his eyes, skin and joints. Reporting has also said Yunus lost vision in one eye and has undergone repeated treatment and surgery.

The trial began on April 29, 2026, in Military Court II-08 Jakarta. The judge said the attack was not influenced by any chain of command, a statement that narrowed the ruling to the four men rather than the institution itself. That line will matter to rights advocates who have criticized the military-court forum and called for a public trial under the civilian justice system. For them, the verdict is only a partial answer unless it leads to deeper scrutiny of how intimidation, surveillance and violence are being used against activists who challenge the military’s role in civilian life.