Byline: IO Digest Desk
The event date for this attack was 2026-03-12, when Andrie Yunus, a deputy coordinator at the Indonesian human rights group KontraS, was assaulted with acid in central Jakarta. According to the Tempo English report in the evidence packet, Yunus suffered burns over 24% of his body after an attacker on a motorcycle splashed acid at him late at night on Jalan Talang, shortly after he had recorded a podcast at the office of the Legal Aid Foundation, known as YLBHI.
The sequence described by Tempo is specific and severe. Police said the attack happened around 11:37 p.m. KontraS told the outlet that Yunus was riding a two-wheeler when two perpetrators approached against the flow of traffic at Talang Bridge. One of them then threw acid at him, hitting much of his body. Yunus screamed in pain and fell from his motorcycle. He was taken to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment, particularly for injuries around his eyes. Tempo reported that examinations found burns on his hands, face, chest and eyes and that 24% of his body had been affected.
Jakarta police publicly condemned the attack and said an investigation was underway. Commissioner Budi Hermanto, the head of public relations for the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, said the Central Jakarta Police were handling the case and examining witnesses and the crime scene. Senior Commissioner Roby Heri Saputra, head of the local criminal investigation unit, said there had been no official report filed at that stage but that police were proceeding with an inquiry regardless. Those statements indicate that authorities were treating the attack as a matter of public urgency even before the formal paperwork was complete.
Tempo also relayed identifying details from KontraS about the two suspects. The driver was said to be wearing a white-and-blue shirt, jeans and a black helmet. The passenger, who allegedly threw the acid, was described as wearing a dark blue shirt, rolled-up blue jeans and a black face covering or buff mask. KontraS said no belongings were missing from the victim, a point that could affect how investigators assess motive because it suggests the incident was not a straightforward robbery.
The background around Yunus's work is also relevant within the limits of the evidence packet. The podcast he had just recorded was titled "Remilitarism and Judicial Review in Indonesia," and KontraS is one of the country's best-known human rights organizations. Tempo reports that KontraS coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya urged police to uncover both the perpetrators and the motive behind the attack. The source, however, does not establish who ordered the assault or why Yunus was targeted, so those questions remain open.
What the evidence does firmly support is the gravity of the incident. On the event date, a senior KontraS official was attacked with acid in central Jakarta, suffered serious burns, and was hospitalized as police opened an investigation. The case immediately raised concern not only because of the violence itself, but because the victim was a prominent figure in Indonesia's human rights community and the attack did not appear, on the available facts, to be a random theft.
