Rights groups in Indonesia decry light sentences in activist acid attack case

An Indonesian military court has sentenced four soldiers to prison terms between 1.5 and three years for their involvement in an acid attack that severely injured activist Andrie Yunus. The March 12 attack left Yunus with serious burns and blinded his right eye.

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teach him a lesson and deter him from further insulting the TNI

The court found Second Sergeant Edi Sudarko, First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono, Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetya, and First Lieutenant Sami Lakka guilty of premeditated assault. Sudarko was identified as the instigator, while Cahyono suggested using acid. The attack stemmed from the soldiers' resentment after Yunus protested a controversial revision to the Military Law that expanded the TNI's role in civilian matters.

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Neither the military investigation nor the trial ever genuinely sought to uncover the truth behind the acid attack

Judges stated the attack aimed to "teach him a lesson and deter him from further insulting the TNI." Sudarko and Cahyono were dismissed from military service, while the other two, who acted as accessories, were not. Military prosecutors considered the sentences fair, though they noted a heavier sentence might have been sought had they directly assessed Yunus's condition.

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These proceedings have been nothing but a charade and a formality aimed at protecting the TNI itself

However, rights groups, including Kontras, decried the sentences as excessively lenient. They argued the proceedings were a "charade" designed to protect the military and highlighted a persistent issue of impunity within the TNI. The court also ordered the destruction of evidence, including the acid container, despite a prior ruling for police investigation.

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If we had been able to directly see the condition of the victim, Andrie, we might have sought a heavier sentence than our demand