JAKARTA: National Police chief Gen Suyudi Ario Seto announced on Thursday (Nov 12) that his predecessor Listyo Sigit Prabowo was the ultimate recipient of the intercepted communications of President Prabowo Subianto, as investigators expanded the scope of the investigation into treason.
Suyudi described Listyo as the “end-user” of the intercepted communications of Prabowo and other prominent figures from surveillance Listyo had ordered from three other generals in the past year while he served as police chief.
According to Suyudi, Listyo ordered the three generals – Ahrie Sonta Nasution, Eko Hadi Santoso and Slamet Uliandi – to report the surveillance results back to him. Listyo was also allegedly responsible for selecting the surveillance targets, which included university students and activists.
Meanwhile, Ahrie was accused of covering up the crimes by removing their log traces.
“Based on our investigation, [Listyo’s] major role was linked to his capacity [as police chief] when ordering [the unlawful surveillance]," Suyudi said in a meeting with House of Representatives’ Commission III overseeing law enforcement on Thursday (Nov 12) morning.
Suyudi added that police investigators have now formally pursued treason charges against the four suspects, moving beyond the initial charges of unlawful wiretapping, interception and tampering of data and abuse of authority.
The police, however, still require more evidence in order to substantiate treason allegations.
“As things stand, the alleged conspiracy to overthrow the government is still being examined,” Suyudi said.
The high-profile case started to unfold earlier this month, when Listyo and the three generals were arrested in one of the biggest recent scandals to hit the country. They were charged with unlawful wiretapping, interception and data tampering under the Criminal Code and the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, which carry a maximum penalty of between six to 10 years in prison.
Listyo is widely seen as a loyalist of former president Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo.
Listyo served as police chief from 2021 under Jokowi and retained the post under Prabowo until last month, when he was reassigned as presidential chief of staff. Listyo was sacked last week following his arrest over the alleged wiretapping.
The House, which comprises mostly political parties under Prabowo’s coalition, has since pushed the police to get to the bottom of the scandal.
On Thursday, all political parties in the House’s law commission said the wiretapping could amount to treason.
“Those who were illegally targeted and spied on were the Indonesian head of state along with numerous national figures. There is almost certainly a massive dirty political agenda behind this covert operation,” Commission III chairman Habiburokhman of Prabowo’s Gerindra Party said.
Lawmaker Safaruddin of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the only major party outside the ruling coalition, called on the police to also investigate anyone who benefited from the scandal.
Lawmakers have also planned to start deliberating on a wiretapping bill sometime this year in a bid to tighten controls on state surveillance. Indonesia currently has no specific law governing wiretapping, but such operations are limitedly permitted for crime investigation and intelligence purposes under several laws governing terrorism, corruption, human trafficking, narcotics crimes and state intelligence.
The wiretap case that implicates Listyo has added to the growing tension between former president Jokowi and his successor, Prabowo.
Also on Thursday, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the oldest son of Jokowi, tendered his resignation letter to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), amid mounting political pressure over his eligibility for office and calls by some lawmakers for his impeachment. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
