Indonesian police are searching for four suspects after an acid attack on a prominent activist critical of the military’s political role, leaving him with severe injuries.
JAKARTA: Indonesian police are hunting for four suspects wanted in connection with a horrific acid attack that severely injured a prominent activist critical of the military’s growing role in government.
Andrie Yunus, the 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 a statement from his organisation.
The attack left him with injuries to his face, an eye, his hands and his torso, with KontraS representative Jane Rosalina confirming his most severe injury was to his right eye requiring specialised treatment in intensive care.
Jakarta police official Iman Imanuddin told reporters that CCTV recordings showed four suspects on two scooters following Andrie immediately before the assault.
Authorities are now conducting forensic tests on a recovered motorcycle helmet and a container suspected to have held the corrosive substance used in the attack.
Andrie had been a vocal critic of efforts to increase military influence in the Indonesian government and had just finished recording a podcast on the topic when he was targeted.
UN rights chief Volker Turk stated last week he was “deeply concerned” by the “horrific acid attack”, adding on social media platform X that “those responsible for this cowardly act of violence must be held to account”.
UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders Mary Lawlor also called for a thorough investigation into what she described as an “unacceptable” attack.
Indonesia’s Minister for Law and Human Rights, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, has vowed that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.
In its latest report, Human Rights Watch said Indonesia “has undergone further democratic backsliding, crackdowns on protests, media censorship, and intimidation of activists” under President Prabowo Subianto, a former general who took office in 2024.
