JAKARTA: Four Indonesian soldiers found guilty of an acid attack that left an activist blind in one eye were sentenced on Wednesday (Jun 10) to up to three years in prison by a military court, with a judge calling their actions “arrogant”.

The four, all members of the military’s Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), were found guilty of premeditated assault for the attack in March that left Andrie Yunus, 27, blind in one eye.

They were arrested shortly after the attack, and BAIS head Yudi Abrimantyo stepped down in what officials said was a “form of responsibility”.

But critics say those who planned the crime have not been identified and likely never will be.

Rights group Amnesty International described the trial as “a blatant whitewash”.

Soldiers Edi Sudarko, 45; Budi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono, 43; Nandala Dwi Prasetya, 40; and Sami Lakka, 41, were each sentenced to between one-and-a-half and three years in prison.

Two were dismissed from the military as part of their punishment for what presiding judge Fredy Ferdian Isnartanto described as “arrogant conduct”.

Military prosecutors contended the soldiers did not act on orders but on their own initiative.

They were said to have been angered by 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 had just finished recording a podcast on the perceived expanding influence of the military when he was attacked while riding his motorbike in Jakarta.

“The actions of the defendants constitute an extrajudicial act of revenge,” prosecutor Wasinton Marpaung said last week.

He had asked for a sentence of two-and-a-half years for each of the men.

“Today’s verdict downplays the severity and impact of the life-threatening attack on Andrie,” Amnesty International Indonesia head Usman Hamid said in a statement.

“It fails to duly consider the involvement of other actors or the chain of command despite independent investigations recently (alleging) that at least 14 individuals had been involved.”

“AUTHORITARIAN” TURN

Andrie and others – including United Nations human rights experts – had asked for the trial to be held in a civilian court, not a military one, for fear of a cover-up in a country where attacks on activists are rarely punished.

He refused to attend any of the trial hearings, citing health reasons and distrust of the court.

One of the judges on the panel, Mokhamad Zainal Abidin, said the defendants had “only intended to teach (Andrie) a lesson” so he would “no longer trample upon and demean” the military.

Usman said the verdict “protects the institutional integrity of the military and shields the full chain of command and other actors potentially linked to this incident from scrutiny”.

“It is a blatant whitewash which brings neither justice nor truth to Andrie Yunus.”

Parliament passed a revision to the national police law on Tuesday that critics say would grant the police too much power in the government, similar to that enjoyed by the military.

Last month, Amnesty warned that the government under President Prabowo Subianto was taking an “authoritarian” turn.

It pointed to “a growing pattern in which Indonesian authorities – including the military – deploy online disinformation to target journalists, activists, academics and protesters in retaliation for their legitimate activism and expression”.