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View all search resultsMilitary intelligence chief steps down following acid attack on activist
Military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Aulia Dwi Nasrullah confirmed to Reuters that there had been a "handing over of position" by Lt. Gen. Yudi Abrimantyo, the military's intelligence unit chief, as a form of responsibility for the attack.
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Bold support: An activist holds a poster during a demonstration on Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Yogyakarta in support of Andrie Yunus, a staff member of Indonesian human rights NGO Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), who was recently attacked with acid by an unidentified person. (AFP/Devi Rahman)
A
senior officer in the Indonesian Military (TNI) has stepped down following an acid attack on an activist known for his opposition to the expanded role of the military, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
Military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Aulia Dwi Nasrullah confirmed to Reuters that there had been a "handing over of position" by Lt. Gen. Yudi Abrimantyo, the military's intelligence unit (BAIS) chief, as a form of responsibility for the attack.
Andrie Yunus, a deputy coordinator with the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, a rights group also known as KontraS, suffered burns to 20 percent of his face and body from acid thrown by assailants on a motorcycle on March 12.
The case drew local and international condemnation. The UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the attack was a "cowardly act of violence".
TNI had previously said it arrested four officers, all members of the intelligence unit. If found guilty, punishments range from disciplinary action to dishonourable discharge, Aulia said.
Yudi was not among the four.
Concern over the erosion of democratic values has grown in Indonesia, where the military's involvement in civilian areas and state-run businesses has increased significantly under the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, a retired general.
In a roundtable interview last week, Prabowo said the attack on Andrie was "terrorism," pledging a thorough investigation and no impunity.
"This is terrorism, isn't it? A barbaric act. We must pursue (the perpetrators)," Prabowo said in an interview published Thursday on his personal YouTube channel.
The former general vowed to "uphold the law" regardless of who was behind the attack.
Hundreds of civil society groups in Indonesia, including Amnesty International, have alleged the attack on Andrie was attempted murder. The activist had just recorded a podcast episode on the subject of military expansion before the incident.
Andrie has been in a Jakarta hospital since the attack and is currently in intensive care following surgery on Wednesday to treat injuries to his right eye, and skin grafts around his eye, chest and shoulder areas, KontraS said.
Responding to the handover of position, KontraS urged Prabowo to form an independent team to investigate the case, saying it should be handled by civil courts instead of the military court, echoing a call earlier this week from the Human Rights Watch.
"What happened to Andrie Yunus is a serious crime that occurred in a civilian space, outside of the context of the military work as well as state defence operations," KontraS and other civil society groups said in a joint statement.
