Responding to the Jakarta Military Court’s sentencing of four military intelligence personnel for attacking human rights defender Andrie Yunus with acid, Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director Usman Hamid said:
“Today’s verdict downplays the severity and impact of the life-threatening attack on Andrie. It fails to duly consider the involvement of other actors or the chain of command despite independent investigations recently alleged that at least 14 individuals had been involved.
“Before the trial even began, the military publicly campaigned that the acid attack was a ‘personal vendetta,’ not a coordinated operation. The six-week-long proceeding at the Jakarta military court overlooked the potential involvement of other actors. Statements by the presiding judge and the military prosecutor point to the lack of impartiality and the inadequacy of military courts to deal with the case.”
The verdict protects the institutional integrity of the military and shields the full chain of command and other actors potentially linked to this incident from scrutiny.
Amnesty International Indonesia’s executive director Usman Hamid
“What is more appalling is that the judges ordered to destroy several pieces of evidence used in the attack, including the bottle of rust remover, a tumbler used to carry the acid and a flash disk that contains a video of the crime scene. This order consequently blocks any future attempt to independently investigate the case. The judges made the decision despite the recent order by the South Jakarta District Court recently for the police to continue investigating the attack in a pretrial civil ruling won by Andrie’s team of lawyers. This clearly an obstruction of justice.
“The verdict protects the institutional integrity of the military and shields the full chain of command and other actors potentially linked to this incident from scrutiny. It is a blatant whitewash which brings neither justice nor truth to Andrie Yunus.”
Background
The panel of judges at the Jakarta Military Court on 10 June sentenced four members of the Military’s Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) between one and a half years and three years in prison for their roles in an acid attack against human rights activist Andrie Yunus. Last week, military prosecutors sought two and a half years’ imprisonment for each the four defendants.
Separate investigations by the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and civil society coalition Advocacy for Democracy Team (TAUD) earlier alleged that at least 14 individuals were involved in the acid attack.
The case was initially investigated by the police, but was handed over to the military. On 2 June, Andrie’s team of lawyers won a pretrial petition pushing the South Jakarta District Court to order the police to continue investigation into the acid attack. The UN has condemned the use of military court to try the attack against Andrie Yunus, calling for a public trial under the civilian justice system.
The presiding judge at the court described that the attack could have been carried out more professionally given their background as military intelligence personnel. An expert witness at the court also described the attack as mere ‘delinquency’ of trained soldiers rather than a coordinated operation. A military prosecutor also praised the spontaneity of defendants for “creatively” mixing car battery acid and rust remover to attack Andrie.