Trial begins for 4 Indonesian service members charged over acid attack on activist

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A trial opened Wednesday for four Indonesian service members accused of carrying out an acid attack on a prominent human rights activist, in a case that has reignited concerns about military impunity.

Three Indonesian navy marines and one air force officer, all assigned to military intelligence, are charged with serious premeditated assault in the March attack on Andrie Yunus, a human rights lawyer and senior activist with the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence, known as KontraS.

Those on trial in a military court in Jakarta are Sgt. Edi Sudarko; First Lt. Budhi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono; Capt. Nandala Dwi Prasetya; and Air Force First Lt. Sami Lakka. The charges carry a sentence of up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors allege the four men acted together but described the motive as personal. They said the defendants attacked Yunus with acid “to teach him a lesson and deter him from making disparaging remarks about the TNI.”

“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,” Iswandi told the court.

Human rights groups criticized both the personal‑motive narrative and the decision to try the case in a military court instead of a civilian one.

“This case has been narrowed to just four individuals, without transparency, while the motive is framed as personal,” said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia. He said 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 said, warning the handling of the case risks undermining public trust.

After prosecutors finished reading the indictment Wednesday, the defendants — two of whom also sustained minor facial and eye injuries from acid splashes during the attack — did not file objections to the charges. The presiding judge said the trial will resume on May 6, when the court will hear witnesses.

Jakarta police initially handled the investigation before announcing that members of the Indonesian military were implicated in the attack. Six days later, military police arrested four suspects from the Strategic Intelligence Agency of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, known as TNI.

Yunus, 27, was riding his motorcycle in central Jakarta on the evening of March 12 when assailants hurled a vial of hydrochloric acid at his face. Prosecutors said he suffered chemical burns to about 20% of his body and damage to roughly 40% of his right cornea.

He has undergone several surgeries and remains in recovery, which prevented him from attending the trial's opening, according to military prosecutor Mohammad Iswandi.

Yunus is recognized for his advocacy against impunity in Indonesia, and his work on security sector reform and civil liberties. He was active in protests last year opposing proposed revisions to Indonesia’s military law that would expand the armed forces’ role in civilian affairs. Colleagues say he has faced repeated intimidation linked to that work.

The case has drawn comparisons to the 2004 murder of Munir Said Thalib, a leading human rights activist and founder of KontraS who was poisoned with arsenic on a flight to Amsterdam. Although several people were convicted, activists argue the mastermind was never fully revealed.

Mounting calls from civil society groups to reveal who ordered and financed the attack on Yunus prompted a response from Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto, a former army general.

Prabowo has pledged to pursue those responsible and said he is considering an independent fact‑finding team. Rights groups say the Yunus trial will test the military’s post‑reform commitment to accountability.

Indonesia’s military formally withdrew from politics after the fall of dictator Suharto in 1998, leading to reforms aimed at strengthening civilian oversight.