Jakarta – Former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) senior investigator Novel Baswedan has strongly criticised the legal proceedings in the case of the acid attack on Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) activist Andrie Yunus, which is currently underway at the Jakarta II-08 Military Court.
Baswedan said that the proceedings have totally failed to pay attention to Yunus' rights as a victim of an acid attack by Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers.
"I'm very concerned about the attitude of the judge who doesn't seem to care or take sides with the victim and even worse his attitude actually seems instead to be defending or leaning towards the perpetrator of the crime. This is what I think is very worrying", said Baswedan after visiting Yunus at the Dr Cipto Mangunkusumo National Hospital (RSCM) in Jakarta on Tuesday May 12.
As someone who was the victim of an acid attack in 2017, Baswedan explained that attacks using this liquid are a very serious crime. He has felt just how painful the impact of the acid was.
Based on this argument, Baswedan also criticised the statement by the former head of the TNI's Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), retired Rear Admiral Soleman B. Ponto at the trial hearing on Thursday May 7, who considered that dousing Yunus with acid was just mischief by trained people, not an intelligence operation.
"This is a way of thinking that I think is worrying and I remind you again that being doused with acid is very painful and moreover the wounds are serious. Meaning, the action was serious, very serious", said Baswedan.
Baswedan, who is now a civil servant (ASN) with the National Police (Polri), hopes that the public can still see Yunus as a good person who fights for the interests of many parties.
"Don't let yourself be upset by things that then actually hinder or hamper your recovery efforts, especially regarding things that have no interest to you", he said.
"The point is that I hope that Andrie Yunus can really get the best treatment process, that he can recover quickly and of course it is impossible for him to be as well as before although hopefully I hope that his recovery can be as optimal as possible and that there should be no steps or actions that actually make Andrie Yunus even more cornered or depressed by things that do not side with the victim", he added.
The RSCM said the activities of the Kontras Deputy Coordinator for External Affairs are still limited. Yunus is still being monitored and treated by a multidisciplinary medical team consisting of specialists in reconstructive plastic surgery, ophthalmology, psychiatry and other related health workers to ensure that the recovery process is optimal and sustainable.
The RSCM said that based on professional medical considerations physically and psychologically, the patient is currently still in the advanced post-operative recovery phase and still requires regular evaluation of the wound healing process and condition of his eye.
Yunus is considered quite capable of adapting to the physical conditions and the surrounding environment and has been cooperative during the treatment process. Psychological assistance is still provided regularly to support the patient's overall recovery process.
Case background
Yunus was doused with acid by TNI soldiers on the evening of March 12 after giving a podcast at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) offices titled "Remilitarisation & Judicial Review of the TNI Law".
The four TNI soldiers who committed the attack are currently being tried at the Jakarta II-08 Military Court. They are Second Sergeant Edi Sudarko, First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi, Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetyo and First Lieutenant Sami Lakka.
The motive for the attack, according to the military prosecutor (Oditur), was that the defendants had a grudge against Yunus for interrupting a closed meeting of House of Representatives (DPR) members discussing revisions of the TNI Law that was held at the Fairmont Hotel in South Jakarta in March 2025.
"Because of this incident, the defendants considered that Andrie Yunus had insulted the TNI as an institution, even trampled on the TNI as an institution", said the prosecutor when reading the indictment at an earlier hearing.
The defendants have been charged with violating Article 469 paragraph 1 subsidiary Article 468 paragraph 1 more subsidiary Article 467 paragraph 1 in conjunction with paragraph 2 in conjunction with Article 20 letter C of Law Number 1/2023 on the Criminal Code (KUHP). (ryn/fra)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Novel Sentil Keras Hakim Militer & Eks Kabais soal Kasus Andrie Yunus".]
