KontraS: Acid Attack on Andrie Yunus Must Be Investigated Up the Chain of Command

JAKARTA - The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS) emphasized that the case of water spraying against its activist, Andrie Yunus, must be fully revealed to the top command structure or the intellectual actors behind the event.

This statement was made by the Head of the KontraS Impunity Monitoring Division, Jane Rosalina, in a public discussion held by the Indonesia Youth Congress (IYC), Monday, March 30, in a hybrid manner.

Apart from Jane, the discussion entitled 'The Rule of Law and Accountability of the Apparatus: Investigating the Water Cannon to Kontras Activists, Civil-Military Justice Reform, the Future of Human Rights and Indonesian Democracy' was attended by a number of speakers, including the Chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Muhamad Isnur; Political Social Analyst of State University of Jakarta, Ubedilah Badrun; Political Observer Ray Rangkuti; and Criminal Expert Binus Ahmad Sofyan.

"The disclosure of the case must not stop at the perpetrators in the field, but must be traced to the party who gave the order. Moreover, this step is also in line with President Prabowo Subianto's statement, which was previously released in Mata Najwa, which described the watering incident against Andrie Yunus as a form of terrorism that must be thoroughly dismantled. In fact, President Prabowo guarantees this," said Jane.

Jane emphasized that KontraS emphasized the importance of the role of the Indonesian National Police to investigate this case transparently and accountable. On the other hand, said Jane, the TNI must provide a thorough investigation of the case to the police so that it can be tried through a public trial.

He reminded that if the disclosure of the case is not carried out seriously, it has the potential to create public doubts about the government's commitment to upholding the rule of law and protecting civil liberties in Indonesia.

"Moreover, KontraS together with Andrie Yunus has been actively voicing its rejection of the revision of the TNI Law as well as encouraging reforms in the security sector in Indonesia that are more democratic and humanistic," said Jane.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Muhamad Isnur, on the same occasion highlighted the increasing pattern of terror, doxing, and intimidation against human rights activists, civil society organizations, and influencers who speak critically.

According to him, if these various cases are not resolved, then the public can doubt the commitment of the Prabowo-Gibran government in maintaining democracy and human rights.

"The case of watering and criminalization of activists should not be normalized. The state must be present because only the state has the authority and resources to uncover it," said Isnur.

Meanwhile, Binus University criminal law expert, Ahmad Sofyan, emphasized that the case of watering against Andrie Yunus must be processed through the general court, not the military court.

"This incident can be categorized as an attempted premeditated murder so law enforcement must investigate to the party who gave the order. The principle of the rule of law requires equality for every citizen before the law without immunity," explained Ahmad Sofyan.

Meanwhile, the social and political analyst of the State University of Jakarta, Ubedilah Badrun, highlighted the civil-military relationship from the New Order era to the post-reform era. He assessed that there were symptoms of the strengthening of militarism in the civil space in recent years which needed to be a common concern. This is as revealed in various study results conducted by a number of experts, experts to reports of a number of civil society organizations.

This public discussion was attended by students, researchers, and civil society as part of efforts to encourage the strengthening of the rule of law, civil-military judicial reform, and protection of human rights defenders in Indonesia.