Police Power Turns Inward in Indonesia Wiretap Case

Indonesia’s national police arrested three senior officers on Nov. 3 over alleged illegal wiretapping that reached the president, government officials, politicians, journalists, nongovernmental organization representatives, mass organization leaders and businesspeople. The surveillance machinery allegedly targeted people across public life. Now, the police are investigating who used it.

Who Was Put Under Surveillance

Top detective Asep Safrudin said the tapping was done “without any legal basis or without any investigative or inquiry process in accordance with applicable laws.” He said the suspects ordered wiretaps without an official written request from investigators or police reports, and the activity wasn’t connected to law enforcement.

Police identified the suspects as LSP, AHN and EH. Local media identified them as Listyo Sigit Prabowo, Ahrie Sonta Nasution and Eko Hadi Santoso. Listyo, who is not related to the president, is a general recently appointed Presidential chief of staff after serving as national police chief. Ahrie was identified as head of the national police legal division, while Eko was identified as a senior officer at the national police educational institution.

Investigators said several phone numbers were entered into the Lawful Interception Management System. In October 2026, the suspects allegedly ordered records deleted to leave no trace. Investigators said the interception began in 2025, about two months after Prabowo took office, and continued into 2026.

The Apparatus Investigates Itself

A police officer who became aware of the alleged crime filed a report on Friday. Police said they examined 10 witnesses and three expert witnesses, seized 11 mobile phones, an iPad and four flash drives, and questioned 13 people. Investigators are examining whether others were involved; they also placed a fourth person under inquiry.

The suspects face accusations under Indonesian laws on illegal interception, unauthorized access to electronic systems and deleting electronic data. Those offenses carry maximum prison terms of 10, six and eight years, respectively. Malay Mail reported that suspects could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Now the case turns on competing accounts from officials at the top. Presidential spokesman Prasetyo Hadi said on Wednesday, Nov. 4, that the alleged conduct may have amounted to treason. “What was done may have fallen into the category of being considered as leading to treason,” he told reporters in Jakarta, referring to Listyo’s arrest the previous day. He said the actions could endanger state interests and the safety of the country’s leader.

Prasetyo said officials didn’t yet know the reason for the wiretapping and that the president had expressed his “profound concern.” Information about a head of state, he said, is naturally very sensitive and could endanger “the interests and the strength of the nation and the state.”

Power, Pressure and Official Uncertainty

Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra identified LSP as an “active police general” at a separate briefing but didn’t name him. He said there was no suspicion of treason and that the investigation remained at an early stage. “As to what material was tapped, and for what purpose the wiretapping was carried out, that is still in the investigative process, which is only at an early stage,” he said. The president’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Prabowo took office in 2024 and has faced growing pressure over the economy and the government’s handling of destructive wildfires. Recent protests have also involved economic hardship, graft and perceived authoritarianism. The wildfires produced toxic haze, made thousands ill and polluted air as far as Malaysia, Singapore, East Timor and the Philippines.

Last month, Prabowo reshuffled his cabinet for a seventh time, appointing Listyo, 57, as chief of staff. Listyo had served as national police chief for five years and held that position when investigators say the alleged wiretapping began. He is reported to be an ally of Prabowo’s predecessor and political rival Joko Widodo. Prabowo is a former general. The investigation has not established who ordered the surveillance or why; for now, those answers remain inside the same institutional apparatus accused of carrying it out.