Indonesia: Hold Perpetrators of Acid Attack Against Human Rights Defender Andrie Yunus Accountable
In early April 2026, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) renewed calls for the Indonesian government to hold accountable all those responsible for the March 12 acid attack on human rights lawyer and legal aid defender Andrie Yunus, who sustained severe burns to his face, eye, chest, and hands after two assailants attacked him outside the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation in Jakarta — hours after he recorded a podcast discussing military encroachment on civilian institutions. An independent investigation released March 30 found that the attack was not the act of two individuals but an organized operation potentially involving up to 16 people, raising alarming questions about state or military involvement. Indonesia’s National Intelligence Agency (BAIS) head resigned following the investigation’s findings. Civil society groups called the attack “the lowest point of democracy” in Indonesia, framing targeted violence against rights lawyers as emblematic of broader democratic regression under a government that has expanded the military’s role in civilian governance.