Indonesia puts four soldiers on trial for acid attack on activist

Four Indonesian soldiers have been charged in connection with an acid attack on activist Andrie Yunus. A trial has commenced in a military court in Jakarta for four Indonesian soldiers accused of carrying out the assault.

The defendants, Edi Sudarko, Budi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono, Nandala Dwi Prasetia, and Sami Lakka, have been charged with serious meditated assault, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 years under Indonesia’s criminal code. The men appeared in court on Wednesday, wearing military fatigues.

According to military prosecutor Mohammad Iswadi, the attack occurred on March 12 when activist Andrie Yunus was riding a motorbike in Jakarta. Two men on another motorbike doused him with acid, resulting in burns across over 20% of his face and body, as well as blindness in one eye.

Four other individuals were arrested in connection with the incident, all of whom worked for the Indonesian military’s Strategic Intelligence Agency. The agency’s chief has since resigned, although no reason was provided. Iswadi stated that the group was angered by Andrie’s activism, but claimed they were not acting on official orders.

At the time of the attack, Andrie had recently recorded a podcast criticizing the militarization of the Indonesian government under President Prabowo Subianto. He had also protested an amendment ratified by Indonesia’s parliament last year, allowing active-duty military personnel to be appointed to wider range of government posts.

Rights groups have criticized the move as potentially leading to abuses of power and human rights. The incident has been linked to at least 14 people, according to the Indonesian human rights watchdog, Komnas HAM.

Source: Al Jazeera