Military officers arrested over acid attack on human rights campaigner Andrie Yunus in Jakarta
Andrie Yunus, from KontraS, is a promiment human rights activist in Indonesia. (Supplied)
In short:
Four Indonesian military officers have been arrested over their alleged involvement in an acid attack on human rights activist Andrie Yunus.
Mr Yunus suffered serious burns to more than 20 per cent of his body.
What's next?
Officials are investigating the alleged motive for the attack and whether other people could have been involved.
Four members of the Indonesian Armed Forces have been arrested over an acid attack on a human rights activist in Jakarta.
Andrie Yunus, the deputy coordinator of human rights group KontraS, suffered serious burns to his face and body when he was attacked on a street in the Indonesian capital last week.
The acid was allegedly thrown at him by two men on a motorcycle.
Indonesian military authorities said that four officers from an intelligence unit in the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) had been arrested.
The four officers have not been named.
But Major General Yusri Nuryanto, Commander of Indonesian Armed Forces Military Police, said their ranks ranged from captain, first lieutenant and second sergeant.
"We have now taken the four alleged suspects into custody at military police headquarters and we are conducting a thorough investigation,"he said.
Mr Nuryanto said officials were investigating the alleged motive for the attack, including the possibility it was ordered by their superiors.
Mr Yunus has been a vocal critic of the growing prominence of Indonesia's military back into Indonesian government affairs.
Civil society organisations have been expressing their concern over Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's use of the military across major government programs.
People protest outside the Indonesian Parliament against revisions to the country's military law in March 20, 2025. (Reuters: Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
Major protests erupted in March last year when Prabowo's government passed a bill allowing the military to hold greater roles across government and state-owned enterprises, something that some civil society organisations felt symbolised a return to the authoritarian ruler Suharto.
President Suharto's three-decade authoritarian rule was characterised by the military exercising significant control over politics.
Andrie Yunus had just finished recording a podcast on 'remilitarisation' late at night when the alleged attack occurred.
CCTV showed Mr Yunus writhing in pain on the street before bystanders rush to his aid.
He is still recovering in hospital with serious burns to more than 20 per cent of his body.
At the time, KontraS described it as "an attempt to silence critical voices in society, particularly human rights defenders".
Advocates hold posters in solidarity with Andrie Yunus after he was attacked with acid in Jakarta. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that he was "deeply concerned" and "those responsible for this cowardly act of violence must be held to account".
Major General Nuryanto said that the four officers would be investigated by military police and could face a military trial on charges of serious assault.
Local media has reported that the four have not formally been declared as suspects.
Another police official, Iman Imanuddin, said more people could have been involved in the alleged incident.
Civil society organisations have urged the government to form an independent fact-finding team into the alleged attack.
ABC/Wires