JAKARTA: Indonesian military prosecutors sought two-and-a-half years in prison on Wednesday (June 3) for each of the four soldiers charged over an acid attack on an activist critical of the armed forces' perceived expanding role in government.
Andrie Yunus, 27, of the KontraS rights group, suffered serious injuries when two men on a scooter threw acid at him in March while he was riding a motorbike.
He had just finished recording a podcast about the military's influence on the Indonesian government.
Four members of the military's Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) were arrested, and BAIS head Yudi Abrimantyo stepped down in what officials said was a "form of responsibility".
Defendants Edi Sudarko, 45; Budi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono, 43; Nandala Dwi Prasetia, 40; and Sami Lakka, 41, are charged with premeditated assault for the attack that left Andrie blind in one eye.
"The actions of the defendants constitute an extrajudicial act of revenge that caused physical suffering to the victim and reputational damage for the military," prosecutor Wasinton Marpaung told a military court in Jakarta.
The prosecution contends the soldiers did not act on orders but on their own initiative, fuelled by anger over Andrie and another activist interrupting a lawmaker's meeting in 2025 to protest a revision to Indonesia's armed forces law.
The amendment, passed by parliament last year, made it possible for active-duty military personnel to work in 14 government ministries and state institutions -- up from 10 before.
Andrie and others have asked for the trial to be held in a civilian court, not a military one, due to fears of a cover-up in a country where attacks on activists are rarely punished.
The Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD), a civil society group representing Andrie, said the sentence demanded by the prosecutors proved the military's failure to ensure accountability.
"This demand still falls far short of any sense of justice for the victims, and the stench of impunity is strong. Unfortunately, this stigma continues to cling to the military justice system's jurisdiction when it tries its own members involved in serious crimes against civilians," the group said. - AFP
