Does an acid attack in Indonesia signal its democratic unravelling?

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His name is Andrie Yunus.

For the past decade, he has been an active human rights advocate in Indonesia.

And last week, he suffered serious burns to his face and body when he was targeted with an acid attack on the streets of Jakarta.

The ABC has interviewed Mr Yunus at least twice, amid growing concern in his country about a resurgence in the military's influence under Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

First, the prominent campaigner raised concerns in an interview about legislative changes critics said could take the country back to the draconian "New Order" era of former president Suharto.

Mr Yunus was among a group of activists who forced their way into a closed-door meeting at Jakarta's luxury Fairmont Hotel last year, when Indonesia's Defence and Security Commission consulted stakeholders, including the Defence Ministry, about the amendments.

In the second interview, one year into Mr Prabowo's administration, he said his human rights organisation KontraS believed the world's third‑largest democracy was drifting back toward authoritarianism through the revival of militarism.

Mr Yunus said the situation felt "like stepping into a time tunnel".

The acid attack, which burned more than 20 per cent of his body, is being seen as a resurgence of New Order-style authoritarianism, where any form of confrontational activism was viewed as a threat to the state that had to be crushed or co-opted by state institutions.

For years, Mr Yunus and KontraS have been vocal critics of "remilitarism" — or, the return of the Indonesian military to government affairs.

A week ago, the campaigner had just recorded a podcast discussing the issue and a judicial review of Indonesia's military law, when acid was thrown at him as he rode his motorbike home.

Part of his clothing melted on contact.

The Advocacy Team for Democracy, which is representing Mr Yunus, described the attack not merely as aggravated assault but an "attempted premeditated murder".

Indonesia's top legal and human rights bodies say the attack represents something more for the country.

The Coordinating Ministry for Law and Human Rights, the National Human Rights Commission, and members of parliament have all called the incident an assault on democracy and human rights defenders.

Mr Prabowo has condemned the attack and said it must be investigated.

"This is terrorism, a barbaric act," he told journalist Najwa Shihab on Tuesday.

The president vowed the investigation would follow the trail "to whoever ordered and financed" the attack and said there would be no impunity, even if state personnel were involved.

But while the president has ordered an investigation, rights groups argue the broader political climate under his leadership is contributing to this incident.

'Not a single case has been fully uncovered'

In fact, according to Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia, one major reason for such attacks is the state's failure to solve earlier cases or prosecute those who orchestrated them.

"We condemn the state for repeatedly failing to investigate various forms of terror against activists, academics, citizens, even influencers who voice criticism," Mr Hamid said.

"Not a single case in the past year has been fully uncovered by authorities."

Amnesty International recorded 283 activists, influencers, and journalists facing attacks in 2025 linked to their work, including intimidation, arrests, digital assaults, criminalisation, and attempted murder.

In one incident, Greenpeace Indonesia's climate and energy campaigner, Iqbal Damanik, received a dead chicken at his home in December 2025, with a note: "Watch your words if you want to keep your family safe."

Mr Damanik had previously strongly criticised the government's response to severe flooding in Sumatra and opposed nickel mining plans that threatened Raja Ampat during Greenpeace's #SaveRajaAmpat campaign.

In March last year, Tempo journalists received a severed pig's head and dead rats with their heads cut off.

The pig's head was addressed to reporter and podcast host Francisca Christy Rosana, who was working on a story about the legislative changes letting armed forces personnel serve in a greater range of government roles.

To date, police have not identified the senders of the animal body parts.

A year into Mr Prabowo's term, civil society organisations also said hundreds of protesters were still being held across the country after a crackdown on demonstrations in August 2025, which began as a protest against salary and allowance increases for members of parliament and escalated after a motorcycle taxi rider, Affan Kurniawan, was killed by a tactical police vehicle.

Mr Hamid said that the current political climate under Indonesia's government had encouraged the stigmatisation of civil society groups as "foreign agents sowing discord".

"In reality, it is Prabowo who is dividing society with aggressive patriotic rhetoric," he said.

Last year, Mr Prabowo accused protesters against a reform bill, which allowed a wider range of government roles for military personnel, of being backed by foreign funding.

According to Mr Hamid, the rhetoric continued into early this year, including less than 24 hours after Mr Yunus was attacked, when the president described his critics as "not patriotic" and said they would be "disciplined when the time comes".

Mr Hamid fears the acid attack may signal a resurgence of New Order-style authoritarianism.

"Under the New Order, opposition was suppressed — any form of confrontational activism was viewed as a threat to the organic state that had to be crushed or co-opted through state corporatism," he said.

Civil society urges an independent investigation

On Wednesday, Indonesian Military Police Commander Yusri Nuryanto announced the arrest of four suspects in the acid attack.

"All four are members of the military's Strategic Intelligence Agency … we are investigating their motives and respective roles," General Nuryanto said.

But at a separate press conference the same day, the national police said they believed there were two suspects.

Muhamad Isnur, from the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform, welcomed the police investigation but questioned conflicting statements between the military and the police about the suspects.

"Are the four people detained by military police the same individuals referred to by the national police?" he asked.

"Is there any coordination between the military and police? Has there been, for example, a handover of CCTV footage or investigative findings?"

Mr Isnur said he saw no evidence of cross-agency coordination.

"We fear this investigation will only stop at the direct perpetrators and never reach the intellectual authors, those who ordered and orchestrated [the acid attack]," he said.

Civil society groups are calling for an independent fact-finding team free from political influence to ensure the case is fully resolved.

For them, solving the case and prosecuting the attackers isn't only about justice.

It's crucial for protecting Indonesian democracy and civil society.