April 9, 2026
JAKARTA – Civil groups and students staged a rally outside the Constitutional Court on Wednesday in solidarity with acid attack victim Andrie Yunus, as the top courta hears cases challenging the Indonesian Military (TNI) Law.
Students, including from the University of Indonesia’s student union BEM UI, delivered speeches supporting Andrie, a human rights defender from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) who was had acid thrown on him by unidentified people, allegedly TNI soldiers, on March 12 on his way home.
Before the attack, Andrie had been serving as legal counsel to petitioners challenging the recently enacted controversial TNI law that allows soldiers to hold civilian posts without having to resign from the military service. But Andrie was absent from Wednesday’s hearing as he remains under intensive medical care for burns to his eye, face, chest and hands.
“We want to send a message to the Constitutional Court not to be afraid of any pressure as we are facing rising authoritarianism and growing repression by military personnel,” BEM UI chair Yatalathof Ma’shum Imawan said during the solidarity protest.
Also joining the protest was Khariq Anhar, a student who last month was acquitted by a district court on charges of inciting riots during the August 2025 anti-government protests after a prosecution that was widely criticized as an attempt to silence critics.
During Wednesday’s hearing at the Constitutional Court, Andrie’s fellow lawyer Muhammad Fadhil Alfathan from Kontras told the bench that Andrie’s absence was caused by “a lack of security guarantees in this case”, linking the acid attack to Andrie’s advocacy work on the TNI law.
Fadhil requested guaranteed protection for all lawyers involved in similar petitions challenging the military law.
Chief Justice Suhartoyo said that while the top court never restricts people’s right to file a petition, he advised the plaintiffs to seek protection from the police.
The petitioners in the case are five rights groups, including Kontras, Imparsial and Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), as well as three human rights researchers.
In their petition, they have also requested that the court revoke a provision in the TNI law that stipulates that criminal offenses conducted by military personnel are subject to military tribunals.
The Wednesday session heard testimonies from expert witnesses from the plaintiffs, and the next hearing is set for April 16 to hear final arguments from both sides.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, some of the petitioners and protesters called for those responsible for the acid attack to be tried in a civilian court.
The Jakarta Police handed over their investigation of the case to the military police earlier this month and so far, the military police have arrested four soldiers identified only as members of the TNI Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS).