Indonesia arrests ex-police chief Listyo for alleged wiretapping of Prabowo

JAKARTA – Former National Police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo and two other senior officers have been arrested for allegedly wiretapping President Prabowo Subianto as well as other government officials, Indonesian police confirmed on Nov 3.“The suspects are alleged to have conducted unauthorised wiretapping by intercepting the telephone communications of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, state officials, political figures, members of the media, leaders of civil society organisations, NGOs and businesspeople,” National Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) chief Asep Safrudin told the press.Asep said that the three suspects had allegedly conducted the wiretapping between 2025 and 2026, by entering the phone numbers into the police’s Lawful Interception Management System.“These interceptions were carried out without any connection to legitimate law enforcement efforts, and in October 2026, the suspects deleted the log records to cover their tracks,” he said.Asep added that this came to light after an officer who had knowledge of these alleged activities reported it to Bareskrim on Oct 30.Listyo, who served as National Police chief from 2021 to 2026, was named Presidential Chief of Staff on Oct 1. The other two suspects were identified as Ahrie Sonta and Eko Hadi Santoso, both two-star police generals.The three suspects have been charged under the Criminal Code as well as the Electronic Information and Transactions Law for illegal wiretapping, unauthorised access to another person’s computer and unauthorised deletion of electronic information.The three charges carry a total possible penalty of 24 years’ imprisonment. The suspects are currently being held at the National Police Headquarters’ detention centre in South Jakarta.At a separate press conference on Nov 3, Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Institutions Yusril Ihza Mahendra said that, so far, the investigation had not found any indication the wiretapping was related to an attempt to overthrow the government.“The content that was being wiretapped, and for what purpose they conducted it, cannot be announced today because it is still under further investigation,” Yusril said.He said that Prabowo had been informed about the case and had instructed law enforcement to take firm action according to prevailing law.“Of course we will also conduct an evaluation because there are several state institutions that have the authority and equipment to conduct wiretapping,” he said.“If (wiretapping) is conducted outside of what is allowed by laws and regulations, then of course it is a serious crime.”