Calls for justice mount as Indonesian activist maimed in acid attack
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Deputy coordinator of the KontraS rights group, Mr Andrie Yunus, sustained serious injuries to his face, eyes, hands and chest in the alleged acid attack.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM KONTRAS/INSTAGRAM
JAKARTA – Two men on a motorbike allegedly threw acid in the face of an Indonesian rights activist, leaving him badly hurt and prompting calls on March 13 for a thorough investigation amid concerns of democratic backsliding in the country.
Mr Andrie Yunus, deputy coordinator of the KontraS rights group, sustained serious injuries to his face, eyes, hands and chest in the attack in Jakarta late on March 12.
He was riding a motorbike when he was allegedly approached by two men on a scooter, one of whom threw acid at him, according to KontraS coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya. Both attackers had their faces concealed.
Mr Andrie, who had previously received threats for his activism, was rushed to hospital with burns to 24 per cent of his body, said Mr Dimas.
“We view this acid attack as an attempt to silence critical voices in society,” he added.
Mr Andrie had 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.
Mr Dimas urged the police “to identify the perpetrators and motives behind the attack” as soon as possible.
Jakarta police spokesman Budi Hermanto told AFP an investigation has been opened.
UN special rapporteur on human rights defender Mary Lawlor also called for a thorough probe over the attack, saying in an X post on March 13 that impunity for violence against human rights defenders was “unacceptable”.
Indonesia’s minister for law and human rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the incident was “an attack on democracy” and pledged that the perpetrators will be brought to justice.
“Acts of violence like this must not be tolerated. Whoever the perpetrators are, whatever their motive, (they) must be prosecuted according to the law,” Mr Yusril said in a statement Friday.
In its latest report on South-east Asia’s biggest economy, Human Rights Watch said Indonesia under President Prabowo Subianto, a former general in office since 2024, “has undergone further democratic backsliding, crackdowns on protests, media censorship, and intimidation of activists”. AFP
