Indonesian military detains four soldiers over acid attack on activist
Activist Andrie Yunus suffered injuries to his face, an eye, hands and torso after the acid attack last week.
Advocacy for Democracy Team (TAUD) members hold posters in solidarity with Andrie Yunus, an activist and deputy coordinator with Indonesia's rights group Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), who suffered burns to 24 per cent of his face and arms from acid thrown by two unidentified assailants on a motorcycle on Mar 12, after a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Mar 16, 2026. (File photo: Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
JAKARTA: The Indonesian military detained four soldiers on Wednesday (Mar 18) suspected of links to an acid attack that maimed a rights activist critical of the growing role of the armed forces, an official said.
Andrie Yunus, deputy coordinator of the KontraS rights group, was riding a motorbike last week when he was approached by two men on a scooter, one of whom threw acid at him, according to the group.
He suffered injuries to his face, an eye, hands and torso.
The military police have detained four soldiers from the armed forces' intelligence unit suspected to have ties to the assault, commander Yusri Nuryanto said.
An internal investigation after the attack had found "some irregularities" that led to the detentions, Nusri said, without giving further details of their alleged crimes.
"We are still investigating the motives of the four alleged perpetrators," Yusri told a press conference.
The soldiers, identified by their initials NDP, SL, BHW and ES, will be held at a maximum security facility in Jakarta, he said.
Separately, Jakarta police released CCTV recordings on Wednesday showing the faces of two people suspected of attacking Andrie.
They had the initials BHC and MAK, police official Iman Imanuddin said. Their links to the four soldiers are unclear.
On Monday, police said analysis of CCTV footage showed four suspects on two scooters had followed Andrie before the attack.
Lawmakers agreed on Wednesday to form a special committee to oversee the handling of the case, according to member of parliament Habiburokhman, who uses only one name, like many Indonesians.
Andrie has been a vocal critic of moves to increase the influence of the military in the Indonesian government and had just finished recording a podcast on the topic when he was attacked.
UN rights chief Volker Turk last week said he was "deeply concerned" by the "horrific" attack and called for accountability.
Human Rights Watch says Indonesia "has undergone further democratic backsliding, crackdowns on protests, media censorship, and intimidation of activists" under President Prabowo Subianto, an ex-general in office since 2024.
