Vetted by NeuralPress's Multi-Agent Verifier for strict factual validity and event relevance. Our compliance engine cross-checks and filters search results to ensure zero false correlations or misleading content.
Suspects Involved in Military Intelligence Unit
Number of military personnel charged from the Strategic Intelligence Agency.
Primary Sources
Trial Opens for 4 Indonesian Military Members in Acid Attack on Activist
A military court in Jakarta has commenced the trial of four Indonesian service members accused of carrying out an acid attack on a prominent human rights activist, a case that has sparked renewed debate over military accountability in the country.Details of the CaseThe defendants—Sergeant Edi Sudarko, First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono, Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetya, and Air Force First Lieutenant Sami Lakka—are charged with serious premeditated assault. All four are assigned to military intelligence units. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 12 years in prison.Prosecutors allege that the men acted together, describing the motive as personal. They claim the attack on Andrie Yunus, a human rights lawyer and senior activist with the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), was intended to teach him a lesson and deter him from making disparaging remarks about the Indonesian military (TNI). — Military prosecutor Mohammad Iswandi told the court: "The actions of the defendants who threw chemical liquid on Andrie Yunus, resulting in the loss of sight in his right eye and severe burns with no hope of complete recovery, were inappropriate actions for members of the TNI."Criticism from Rights GroupsHuman rights organizations have criticized both the personal-motive narrative and the decision to try the case in a military court rather than a civilian one. Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, stated: "This case has been narrowed to just four individuals, without transparency, while the motive is framed as personal." He noted that there was no clear personal or professional relationship between Yunus and the accused, and alleged that official military assets were used in the attack."It is difficult to accept that state facilities were used solely for personal revenge," Hamid added, warning that the handling of the case risks undermining public trust in the justice system.Court ProceedingsAfter prosecutors read the indictment, the defendants—two of whom sustained minor facial and eye injuries from acid splashes during the attack—did not file objections. The presiding judge announced that the trial will resume on May 6, when the court will hear witnesses.The Jakarta police initially handled the investigation but later announced that members of the military were implicated. Six days later, military police arrested the four suspects from the Strategic Intelligence Agency of the Indonesian National Armed ...
Indonesia puts four soldiers on trial over acid attack on activist
Military prosecutors have charged four people in the attack that burned one-fifth of activist Andrie Yunus’s body.A trial has opened in a military court in Jakarta for four Indonesian soldiers accused of carrying out an acid attack on an activist who campaigned against the expansion of the role of the armed forces in government.Military prosecutors charged the group, including Edi Sudarko, Budi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono, Nandala Dwi Prasetia and Sami Lakka, on Wednesday with serious meditated assault, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 years under Indonesia’s criminal code.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Indonesia receives bodies of peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanonlist 2 of 4Indonesia, US sign ‘major’ defence cooperation agreementlist 3 of 4Survivors of deadly Indonesia train crash pulled from wreckagelist 4 of 4Death toll after train crash near Indonesia’s Jakarta rises to 14end of listThe defendants, who were represented by military-appointed lawyers, appeared in court in fatigues. A defence lawyer for the men told the court they would not dispute the indictment, allowing the trial to proceed. The attack unfolded on March 12, when activist Andrie Yunus – a deputy coordinator with the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) – was riding a motorbike in Jakarta. Two men on another motorbike doused him with acid.Visitors walk past a mural featuring Andrie Yunus, the deputy coordinator of the KontraS rights group, who suffered serious injuries when two men on a scooter threw acid at him, at a Mural Exhibition, ‘From Citizens for Andrie’, in Jakarta, on April 27, 2026 [AFP]Andrie, 27, received burns across more than 20 percent of his face and body and was blinded in one eye, according to military prosecutor Mohammad Iswadi.Although police at first identified two other suspects based on CCTV footage, four others were ultimately arrested.They all worked for the Indonesian military’s Strategic Intelligence Agency, whose chief has since resigned, though a reason was not provided.Iswadi said the group was angered over Andrie’s activism, but was not working on official orders.At the time of the attack, Andrie had just finished recording a podcast, criticising what he describes as the militarisation of the Indonesian government under President Prabowo Subianto, a former general.He had also protested an amendment ratified by Indonesia’s parliament last year, allowing active-duty military personnel to be appointed to a w...
Military court indicts officers in activist acid attack case
Jakarta Military Court Judge Col. Fredy Ferdian Isnartanto (second left) presides over the indictment hearing against the four defendants in the acid attack against human rights activist Andrie ...
Military charges Indonesian soldiers in acid attack on activist
Indonesian military personnel accused of carrying out an acid attack on human right activist Andrie Yunus, stand in attention during their trial at a military court in Jakarta, Indonesia. (AP)
