Jakarta – Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Coordinator Dimas Bagus Arya says that impunity will recur if members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) who commit general crimes continue to be tried in military courts.
Arya conveyed this when appearing as a witness for the plaintiff in case number 260/PUU-XXIII/2025 in a judicial review of the Military Justice Law at the Constitutional Court (MK) on Tuesday April 28.
"Since the establishment of Kontras, monitoring and advocacy regarding military justice practices has been a primary focus because we see that as long as military personnel who commit crimes are tried in their own courts or in an interim forum, then impunity will continue to recur", said Arya before the constitutional justices.
He said that Kontras' input and notes on military justice practices reveal this to be one of the main roots of the chain of impunity in Indonesia.
"This is not based on intuition or mere conjecture, but rather on the facts we have discovered up until now and allow me to cite several cases as examples", he added.
In his testimony, Arya cited several past human rights violations, such as the abductions and enforced disappearance of pro-democracy activists in 1997-1998, the murder of Papua independence leader Theys Eluay in 2001, the murders of civilians Apinus Zanambani and Luther Zanambani in Intan Jaya in 2020, and the murder of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani in Hitadipa in 2022.
These cases involved active-duty TNI soldiers, with the average sentence handed down by military courts being very light, disproportionate to the crimes committed.
Andrie Yunus' letter
Within the limited time allotted by the constitutional judges, Arya took the opportunity to read a letter written by his colleague Kontras Deputy Coordinator for External Affairs Andrie Yunus, who was the victim of an acid attack by members of the TNI's Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS).
In the letter, Yunus asked for a thorough investigation into the attempted premediated murder against him. He said that the state through its legal apparatus has a responsibility to guarantee that such incidents do not occur again.
"The most important thing for me, is that anyone with any background, whether civilian or military, must be tried through a general court", said Yunus in the letter read by Arya.
Yunus said he objects to the acid attack case being tried in a military court. He filed a motion of no confidence in the law enforcement process, which will proceed through military courts which have long been a haven of impunity for military personnel accused of human rights violations.
"Our Constitution affirms the principle of equality before the law. Therefore, in this case, if it is not tried in a general court, it will constitute a serious violation of the principle of equality before the law", Arya said concluding Yunus' letter.
Tomorrow, the acid attack case will enter the evidentiary stage in court. The Jakarta Military Court II-08 has scheduled a hearing to read the indictments against the four perpetrators from BAIS on Wednesday April 29.
This judicial review of the Military Justice Law was filed by Lenny Damanik and Eva Meliani Br. Pasaribu. The petitioners are challenging Article 9 point 1, Article 43, and Article 127 of the law.
During the first hearing at the Constitutional Court on January 8, 2025, the petitioners, represented by their attorney, Ibnu Syamsu Hidayat, emphasised that the impunity of soldiers contradicts the principles of the rule of law and equality before the law.
The petitioners also highlighted broader consequences, namely the weakening of civilian supremacy in a democratic system of government.
The dominance of military court jurisdiction over general courts is considered contrary to the principle of a constitutional democracy that places civilian power above military power.
According to the petitioners, this dual jurisdiction stems from the provisions of Article 9, paragraph 1 of the Military Justice Law, which grants active-duty TNI soldiers special status, allowing them to be tried exclusively in military courts, even if they commit general crimes.
This regulation is considered to have the potential to give rise to impunity and violate the principle of equality before the law.
"The phrase 'trying criminal acts' under Article 9, paragraph 1 of Law Number 31/1997 opens up opportunities and broad interpretations regarding the authority of military courts than can not only try soldiers or those equivalent to soldiers who commit military crimes and violations of military discipline, but also provide the authority to try other criminal cases such as corruption, traffic offences, domestic violence, narcotics, psychotropics and child protection", said Hidayat. (fra/ryn/fra)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "KontraS di MK: Selama TNI Diadili Peradilan Militer, Impunitas Abadi".]