Statement and petition regarding the violent attack on Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence on 12 March 2026

We, representing scholars and educators of Indonesian studies at universities across Australia, express our grave concern at the violent attack on Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS). 

Mr Yunus, who was part of a fact-finding team investigating arbitrary arrests since the August 2025 protests in Indonesia, was severely injured in an acid attack on 13 March.

This incident is especially alarming because it appears in the context of a broader pattern of intimidation, harassment, and violence directed at activists and members of civil society in Indonesia over the past decade. Scholars of Indonesian studies have watched with growing concern the rise in online harassment of government critics, the heavy-handed treatment of demonstrations, and other forms of repression targeting those who speak out against abuses.

The attack on Andrie Yunus represents a shocking escalation in that pattern.

We hold the view that a free, robust, and secure civil society is essential to Indonesia’s democratic life and to the hard-won standing it has earned as an important democracy in the region. Acts of violence against human rights defenders and civil society actors threaten not only the safety of individuals but also the broader civic freedoms on which democratic institutions depend.

We therefore call for a swift, thorough, and impartial investigation into this horrific attack, for those responsible to be brought to justice, and for concrete measures to be taken to prevent such violence from recurring. Ensuring the safety of activists and civil society actors is essential to protecting democratic freedoms and the rule of law in Indonesia.

Click here to sign the petition.