Indonesia arrests three police officers over president wiretapping
The suspects include a presidential chief of staff and two senior police officers, and are accused of intercepting communications and deleting data.
Indonesian police have detained three senior officers over suspected unlawful surveillance of President Prabowo Subianto and several other prominent figures, Turkey's state-run news agency Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday.
Criminal Investigation Agency head Asep Safrudin said the three men became suspects after investigators questioned witnesses and collected evidence.
Safrudin said the officers are being investigated for intercepting communications without permission, accessing electronic systems illegally and erasing electronic data.
Police named the suspects as Presidential Chief of Staff Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, National Police Legal Division head Insp.
Gen. Ahrie Sonta Nasution and Insp.
Gen. Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior instructor at the National Police Education and Training Institute.
The report did not say when the alleged surveillance took place or describe the evidence that police collected.
It also did not list all of the prominent figures said to have been targeted, beyond the president.
Listyo previously led the National Police before joining the presidential staff, placing a former police chief in one of the government's closest advisory roles.
Prabowo took office as Indonesia's president in October 2024, after winning the February 2024 election.
Under Indonesia's electronic information and transactions law, illegal interception of communications and unauthorized access to electronic systems are criminal offences.
