Indonesian police announced on Tuesday the detention of three senior police generals over allegations of illegally intercepting the communications of President Prabowo Subianto and numerous other prominent individuals.
,Asep Safrudin, who leads the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency, stated that the suspects face investigations regarding unlawful communication interception, unauthorized access to electronic systems, and the deletion of electronic data.
,Authorities identified the detained officers as current Presidential Chief of Staff General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, National Police Legal Division head Inspector General Ahrie Sonta Nasution, and Inspector General Eko Hadi Santoso, who works as a senior instructor at the National Police Education and Training Institute.
,Safrudin told a news conference at the national police headquarters in Jakarta late Tuesday that all three individuals were being held at the headquarters detention centre.
,"The suspects are alleged to have carried out nonprocedural or illegal tapping against the telephone numbers of the president of the Republic of Indonesia, state officials, political figures, media figures, community leaders, NGO activists and businesspeople," Safrudin said.
,Neither President Prabowo nor the three detained officers issued any public response to the allegations. A spokesperson for the office of the Presidential Chief of Staff was unavailable for comment.
,Investigators have questioned 10 witnesses alongside three expert witnesses, according to Safrudin. Law enforcement personnel also seized 11 mobile phones, an iPad, and four flash drives as evidence.
,Police stated that the unauthorized wiretapping occurred between 2025 and 2026. During part of that timeframe, Listyo served as the National Police chief. The suspects allegedly ordered wiretaps without complying with procedures set out in a 2010 National Police regulation, entering multiple telephone numbers into the Lawful Interception Management System without proper verification.
,Investigators added that the suspects recently instructed subordinates to delete intercepted communication files from the computer system to hide evidence and wipe out traces of the operation. Authorities have not yet revealed the motive behind the surveillance, and the inquiry continues.
,Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra addressed reporters at a separate Jakarta news conference on Tuesday evening, stating that investigators had uncovered no signs of treason linked to the active officers.
,"But when it comes to matters like this, imagine if a president were intercepted or wiretapped, or if government ministers were under surveillance, and we do not know why the wiretapping was carried out," Mahendra said. "This is not a minor issue, it is a serious matter for any country."
,Mahendra confirmed that the suspects will face prosecution under Article 258 of the new Indonesian Criminal Code, which bans the unlawful interception or monitoring of nonpublic electronic communications and carries a prison term of up to 10 years.
,They also face allegations under Article 332 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum six-year sentence, and Article 32 of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law for the unauthorized deletion of electronic data, which carries up to eight years in prison.
