Indonesia Sentences Four Military Officers to Prison for Acid Attack on Rights Activist

On June 10, 2026, a Jakarta military court found four BAIS intelligence officers — Second Sergeant Edi Sudarko, First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono, Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetya, and First Lieutenant Sami Lakka — guilty of premeditated assault for the March 12 attack on Andrie Yunus, 27, deputy coordinator of KontraS, a prominent human rights organization. Sudarko received the heaviest sentence of three years, followed by Cahyono at 2.5 years, Prasetya at two years, and Lakka at 1.5 years; the two who directly carried out the attack were also dishonourably discharged. Judges described the conduct as 'arrogant' and said the officers acted out of personal grievance after Yunus interrupted a closed-door parliamentary meeting concerning a military law revision that expanded the armed forces' role in civilian governance. Prosecutors maintained the attack was not ordered through any chain of command but was the defendants' own initiative, a finding that drew sharp criticism from Amnesty International Indonesia, which alleged independent investigations pointed to at least 14 individuals being involved. Yunus refused to attend the trial, citing ongoing recovery from skin graft surgeries and deep distrust of the military justice system, and his legal team effectively boycotted proceedings, calling them a 'sham'; judges cited his absence as an aggravating factor in sentencing. The military court also ordered the destruction of key evidence, including CCTV footage of the attack. The case has drawn comparisons to the 2004 poisoning of KontraS founder Munir Said Thalib and has intensified broader concerns about democratic backsliding and military impunity in Indonesia under President Prabowo Subianto.