Indonesia’s presidential chief of staff has been detained alongside two senior police generals over allegations of secretly tapping President Prabowo Subianto’s phone and monitoring dozens of other influential figures.
The arrests have raised serious questions about security within the Indonesian government, particularly as one of the suspects, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, previously headed the country’s national police force.
Listyo, who is not related to the president, was appointed presidential chief of staff just last month after serving as police chief for more than five years.
The other suspects have been identified as National Police Legal Division chief Ahrie Sonta Nasution and senior police instructor Eko Hadi Santoso.
Police investigator Asep Safrudin said Tuesday, November 3, that the three allegedly ordered illegal surveillance of government officials, politicians, journalists, activists and businesspeople between 2025 and 2026.
Investigators believe telephone numbers were entered into the police’s Lawful Interception Management System without the authorisation required for criminal investigations.
The suspects allegedly went a step further in October, ordering the deletion of intercepted communications to conceal evidence of the surveillance operation.
Authorities have questioned 10 witnesses and three experts, while seizing 11 mobile phones, an iPad and four flash drives.
All three suspects are being held at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta.
However, investigators have not established why the president and other prominent figures were allegedly targeted.
Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Law and Human Rights, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, said there was no indication of treason in the case.
The suspects face several charges involving unlawful interception, unauthorised access to electronic systems and destruction of digital evidence. The most serious offence carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
Neither the president nor the suspects has publicly responded to the allegations.
