Lieutenant General Yudi Abrimantyo has stepped down from his position as Head of the Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI). This significant development occurs amidst an active investigation into a severe acid attack targeting Andrie Yunus, the Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS).
The TNI Information Center Head clarified that Lieutenant General Abrimantyo’s resignation serves as a crucial act of accountability, given that several BAIS members are implicated as suspects in the assault. Major General Aulia Nasrullah, Head of the TNI Information Center, stated during a press briefing at TNI Headquarters in East Jakarta on Wednesday, March 25: “We need to convey here that, as a form of accountability, the handover of the Kabais position has been carried out today.”
The departure of such a senior official naturally prompts questions about his background. Lieutenant General Yudi Abrimantyo is a distinguished high-ranking officer from the Indonesian Army, hailing from the infantry branch. An alumnus of the 1989 Military Academy class, he dedicated a significant portion of his career to the intricate field of intelligence, also boasting a background with the elite special forces unit, Kopassus.
Lieutenant General Abrimantyo assumed the leadership of BAIS only recently, in March 2024, following the TNI Commander’s Decree Number Kep/329/III/2024 issued on March 22, 2024. Prior to this pivotal role, he held several other strategic appointments, demonstrating a diverse and extensive career trajectory. These included serving as Paban Utama A-5 Dit A BAIS TNI from 2016 to 2018, followed by a tenure as Bandep Urusan Sosial Budaya Deputi Bidang Pengembangan Setjen Wantanas from 2018 to 2020. His expertise was then channeled into the Ministry of Defense, where he served as Secretary of the Directorate General of Defense Strategy from 2020 to 2021, before becoming Head of the National Strategic Installation Agency within the same ministry from 2021 to 2024.
Returning to the core of the investigation, TNI Headquarters has officially confirmed that the alleged perpetrators of the vicious acid attack on Andrie Yunus are indeed members of Denma BAIS. A total of four individuals have been identified, with their affiliations spanning both the Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) and the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL). The suspects have been identified by their ranks and initials as Captain NDP, First Lieutenant SL, First Lieutenant BHW, and Sergeant ES.
The brutal attack on Andrie Yunus occurred on Thursday, March 12, as he was riding his motorcycle through Salemba, Central Jakarta. Suddenly, two assailants riding together on a single motorcycle approached him and doused him with acid under the cover of night. This horrific incident left Andrie with severe burns covering 24 percent of his body, with the most critical and permanent damage inflicted upon his right eye.
Summary
Lieutenant General Yudi Abrimantyo has stepped down from his position as Head of the Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS) of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI). This resignation is an act of accountability, as several BAIS members are implicated as suspects in a severe acid attack. The victim, Andrie Yunus, Deputy Coordinator of KontraS, suffered critical burns in the incident.
TNI Headquarters confirmed that four members of Denma BAIS are suspected perpetrators of the March 12 attack, which caused 24 percent body burns and permanent damage to Yunus’s right eye. Lieutenant General Abrimantyo, an Army officer with a background in intelligence and Kopassus, had only assumed leadership of BAIS in March 2024 prior to this development.