Shela Octavia, Nawir Arsyad Akbar, Jakarta – The Civil Society Coalition is calling for the four soldiers suspected of throwing acid on human rights activist Andrie Yunus to be prosecuted in a general court, not a military court.
"The Civil Society Coalition is urging that the four suspects be criminally prosecuted through the general justice system, so that transparency and accountability can be guaranteed", said the Coalition in an official statement received by Kompas.com on Wednesday March 18.
The acid attack on the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Deputy Coordinator was an act of violence that violates democracy and the Constitution.
Meanwhile, there is concern that a legal process through the military justice system will provide space to limit or even avoid the accountability and responsibility by the alleged perpetrators.
"There is also concern that bringing this case to the military courts will eliminate the severity and systematic nature of this case. It is not impossible that this case could drag in perpetrators higher up in the chain of command, as intellectual actors", wrote the Coalition.
It is hoped that the investigation into the case will not stop with the four alleged perpetrators who are now said to be the executors of the attack.
The Coalition is pushing the government to investigate this case up to the intellectual actor who ordered the attack on Yunus.
"For this reason, the Civil Society Coalition is urging that this case be thoroughly investigated up to the intellectual actors and not stop at the field operators through a transparent and accountable judicial process, under the general justice system", continued the Coalition.
A number of non-profit organisations from civil society make up the Coalition including Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial), the Centra Initiative, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Kontras, Amnesty International Indonesia (AII), the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), DeJure, the Raksha Initiative, the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta), the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), the Indonesian Women's Coalition (KPI), Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation for Justice (LBH Apik), the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), the Legal Aid Institute for the Press (LBH Pers), the Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), the Indonesia RISK Centre and the Community Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Masyarakat).
Four soldiers involved in attack
As report earlier, four Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers were allegedly involved in the acid attack on Yunus.
"This morning I received [a report], that four people are suspected of carrying out the abusive activities against Saudara [Brother] Andri Yunus", said TNI Military Police Chief (Danpuspom) Major General Yusri Nuryanto during a press conference at the TNI Headquarters in Jakarta on Wednesday.
In this case, Nuryanto revealed the initials and ranks of the four perpetrators. "Captain NDP, Lieutenant SL, Lieutenant BHW and Sergeant Second Class ES", he said.
The four soldiers have been arrested and are being detained at the Regional Military Command Military Police (Pomdam Jaya). Nuryanto however has not announced the role and motive for throwing acid on the activist. "So we are still investigating the motive", he asserted.
The suspects have been charged under Article 467 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on premeditated assault, which is subject to a minimum sentence of four years in prison and a maximum of seven years.
The acid attack on Yunus occurred on Thursday evening March 12 in the Senen area of Central Jakarta. As a result of the attack, Yunus suffered burns on several parts of his body, including his eyes, face, chest and hands.
Based on the initial diagnosis by the team of doctors at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, he suffered burns to around 24 percent of his body.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Koalisi Sipil Desak 4 Prajurit TNI Penyiram Air Keras Diproses di Peradilan Umum".]
