Indonesian court jails four soldiers over acid attack

A military court in Jakarta sentenced four Indonesian soldiers to prison on Wednesday for a March acid attack that severely injured a prominent human rights activist, a verdict that has drawn sharp criticism from rights groups as a failure to deliver full accountability.

The four defendants, all members of the military's Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), were convicted of premeditated assault for the attack on Andrie Yunus. The 27-year-old deputy coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS) was riding his motorbike in Jakarta on March 12 when assailants threw hydrochloric acid in his face. The attack left him blind in his right eye and with burns covering 24 percent of his body, requiring multiple surgeries and ongoing hospitalization.

Presiding judge Colonel Fredy Ferdian Isnartanto said the soldiers' actions constituted arrogant conduct that betrayed their duties and damaged the military's image. Sergeant Edi Sudarko received a three-year sentence, while First Lieutenant Budhi Hariyanto Widhi Cahyono was sentenced to 30 months. Both were dismissed from the armed forces. Captain Nandala Dwi Prasetya received a two-year sentence, and...