March 22, 2026 | 09:44 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Four suspects of the acid attack on Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Andrie Yunus, have been detained. However, the ones who apprehended them were the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) rather than the police.
They are members of the Strategic Intelligence Detachment of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (Denma BAIS TNI) and will be internally processed through military justice. Several civilian groups have urged the suspects to undergo legal proceedings in a public court.
Unfortunately, according to the Executive Director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), Erasmus Napitupulu, it is difficult for the police to directly act against the suspects, identified as NDP, SL, BWH, and ES, due to their status as active-duty military personnel, which is protected by military law.
Article 74 of the TNI Law states that every soldier is subject to military justice until a specific law on military justice is enacted. This policy has hindered the police from prosecuting the perpetrators of the crime. "Because all of the perpetrators are military personnel," said Erasmus on Friday, March 20, 2026.
In mid-March 2026, the police initially announced that they had identified two suspects in the attack on Andrie Yunus: BHC and MAK. Around the same time, however, the TNI Military Police Center announced four other perpetrators.
These individuals are personnel from the TNI Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) from the ground and naval forces. They have been detained at the Military Police Command Headquarters (Pomdam Jaya) since Wednesday morning, March 18, 2026. "I have received individuals suspected of being involved in actions of assault against Andrie Yunus," said the Chief of the Military Police Headquarters (Puspom) TNI, Major General Yusri Nuryanto.
The House of Representatives (DPR) decided that they should be subject to military justice. Chair of the DPR Legal Commission, Habiburokhman, was not surprised by the TNI's decision to immediately handle the four suspects internally. "After all, the police cannot apprehend TNI members," he said on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.
However, according to him, this case can be tried by both the TNI and the national police force. The legal basis is Article 170 of the Criminal Code, which addresses the crime of assault.
Director of General Crime Investigation of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Commissioner General Iman Imanuddin, stated that the results of the police investigation will be compared with the findings of the TNI. He claimed that the Police and the TNI are committed to exposing the truth in Andrie Yunus' case. "In accordance with the President's directive," he said.
Read: Prabowo Calls for Full Probe Into Andrie Yunus Attack Masterminds
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