Indonesia’s police chief told lawmakers Thursday that an illegal wiretapping operation targeting President Prabowo Subianto also surveilled senior government officials, politicians, activists and law enforcement personnel, widening a scandal that has shaken the country’s political and security establishment.
Suspect discharged from police as others face ethics hearings
Little has been released so far about the investigation, but last week police said they had uncovered evidence that Nasution, who at one point was an aide-de-camp from the police forces to President Prabowo, requested Uliandi’s permission in October to delete recordings made of Prabowo’s telephone conversations. Gen. Suyudi Ario Seto appeared before a parliamentary panel as lawmakers investigate the operation alleged to have involved several high-ranking officials, including Prabowo’s own chief of staff. He alleged the targets of the surveillance included the president, officials within the presidential palace, ministries, state institutions, lawmakers, political party figures, governors, anti-corruption officials, activists and students. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who was named chief of staff to Prabowo in October and has close ties to former President Joko Widodo.
The government ordered 20,000 troops to Jakarta as a precaution, though there has not yet been any sign of a major military presence on the streets of the capital, with most kept on standby in barracks.
“The fact that someone appeared on the list of surveillance targets does not mean they are suspected of any wrongdoing,” Seto told parliament’s Commission III, which oversees law enforcement and security affairs. Prabowo’s office said the operation was being investigated as a case of possible treason. Widodo, known popularly in Indonesia as Jokowi, has ties to the main suspects, which already has deepened a rift between the former president and Prabowo, said Evan Laksmana, a Singapore-based analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Widodo has said little about the case other than to comment that the legal process should be respected as the investigation continues. They said Uliandi approved the request and the files were deleted.
The wiretap allegations came to light earlier this month after three senior police generals were detained including Gen. Since then, a fourth top police official has been implicated. Listyo Sigit Prabowo previously served as police chief under Widodo, though the former president has not been implicated in the wiretapping investigation.
