Indonesian chief of staff arrested for wiretapping phone calls... Crimes committed while serving as police chief (comprehensive)

The president's chief of staff, a former police chief, and two high-ranking police officers were arrested on suspicion of wiretapping the phone calls of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and other influential figures.

According to the AP and AFP news agencies on the 4th (local time), the Indonesian National Police Agency announced the day before that it was investigating three suspects on charges of illegal wiretapping of communications and unauthorized access to electronic systems.

Indonesian police released only the initials of the suspects without specifying their names, but local media reported that they included Presidential Chief of Staff Listyo Sigit Prabowo (57).

Yusril Mahendra, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Justice, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections, said the other two were high-ranking police officers.

The Associated Press reported that they are the director of the National Police Agency's Legal Department and the chief instructor of the National Police Agency's Education and Training Institute.

Three people, including Chief of Staff Ristillo, are accused of ordering their subordinates to wiretap the phone calls of influential figures, including President Prabowo, politicians, businessmen, journalists, and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Indonesian police believe that they have been wiretapping since last year without any connection to law enforcement, and that last month they ordered the deletion of files containing wiretapped communications to cover up these suspicions.

An Indonesian police official explained, “Several numbers (including the president’s phone number) were wiretapped without any legal basis or investigative procedures.”

The police received a report of this suspicion from a police officer last week and began an investigation, questioned 10 witnesses and 3 experts, and confiscated 11 cell phones and 4 portable storage devices (USBs) as evidence.

If the suspects are found guilty, they could face up to 10 years in prison, AFP reported.

Chief of Staff Listillo served as the head of the National Police for five years from 2021 when President Joko Widodo (Joko Widodo) was in power, and was suddenly dismissed early last month. However, on the same day, he was immediately appointed Chief of Staff to the President.

Minister Yusril said, "We are still investigating what content was wiretapped and for what purpose," but said he had not found any circumstances related to the treason charges.

The Indonesian President's Office announced that President Prabowo dismissed Chief of Staff Listillo on this day.

Prasetillo Hadi, Indonesia's Secretary of State and presidential spokesperson, told reporters, "This wiretapping suspicion could fall within the scope of treason," and added, "This not only threatens the safety of the national leader, but is also an act that jeopardizes the country's interests and security."

He added that President Prabowo expressed deep concern regarding this incident.

Januar Nugroho, a visiting senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Isaac Institute in Singapore, said that Ristillo was known as a loyalist to former President Joko Widodo when he served as police chief. “President Prabowo needed a trustworthy police chief, but he was not that kind of person.”