Indonesian lawmakers question police chief about wiretaps alleged to target President Prabowo

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's police chief is set to appear before a parliamentary panel Thursday as lawmakers investigate allegations that President Prabowo Subianto was targeted in an illegal wiretapping operation by several high-ranking officials, including his own chief of staff.

The wiretap allegations, which have rattled the country’s political and security establishment, came to light after three senior police generals were detained including Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who was named chief of staff to Prabowo in October and has close ties to former President Joko Widodo. Since then, a fourth top police official has been implicated.

Prabowo's office said the operation was being investigated as a case of possible treason. 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.

Part of the investigation is determining the origin of the order to wiretap the president.

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.

“The majority of Prabowo's political decision making in the past two years always have some Jokowi overshadowing,” Laksmana said. “So this is kind of Prabowo finally potentially stepping out of Jokowi's shadow and maybe even going into open political confrontation.”

National Police Chief Gen. Suyudi Ario Seto was expected to field questions from parliament's Commission III, which oversees law enforcement and security affairs and is trying to determine the motive behind the wiretapping operation and uncover whether others were involved. Seto, whose office oversees the current investigation, took over from Listyo Sigit Prabowo as national police chief after the latter was named Prabowo's chief of staff.

“We will see this case through until the facts are fully and clearly revealed,” said Commission III Chairman Habiburokhman, who like many Indonesians uses a single name. “Anyone found to be involved must be held legally accountable.”

Beyond Prabowo, who has not commented on the case, there are allegations that Cabinet officials, politicians, journalists, civil society leaders and business executives also were subjected to unauthorized surveillance. Amnesty International has called for a complete investigation, saying the wiretap operation could have been used to intimidate critics and weaken civil liberties.

Anti-government protests recently have been held in several of Indonesia's major cities. Demonstrators called for accountability in the wiretap case while criticizing former President Widodo's continued political influence and demanding the resignation of Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka , who is Widodo's son. On Tuesday, 154 people were detained in the city of Yogyakarta following clashes after a protest by about 2,000 students and activists.

In addition to Listyo Sigit Prabowo, authorities also have detained National Police Legal Division head Ahrie Sonta Nasution and Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior instructor at the National Police Education and Training Institute, who are both two-star police generals.

Slamet Uliandi, a two-star police general who heads the Criminal Investigation Agency's Information and Communications Technology Division, has been implicated but is not in custody due to health reasons.

Nasution was dishonorably discharged from the police Tuesday following an internal ethics hearing that was prompted by the wiretap case. Similar proceedings against the three others were to be held soon, police spokesperson Johnny Eddizon Isir said.

None of the suspects have made any public statements about the case.

Listyo Sigit Prabowo previously served as national police chief under Widodo, though the former president has not been implicated in the wiretapping investigation. Widodo has said little about the case other than to comment that the legal process should be respected as the investigation continues.

Prabowo, a former military general, lost two presidential races to Widodo but ended up serving as the popular leader's defense minister. He then campaigned as a successor to Widodo, who was term limited, and chose Widodo's son as his running mate and received Widodo's backing for his campaign.

But Raka on Tuesday offered to resign in response to an investigation into his academic credentials unrelated to the wiretap case, which has added to the political turmoil and the split between the current and former presidents.

“I think this will be a long, and most likely painful, breakup between Jokowi and Prabowo, and I don't think you can go back to normal after this,” Laksmana said. “And this is going to be a long painful breakup with many political and security ramifications across the country at a time when the country isn't doing well.”

Police alleged the unauthorized wiretapping took place between 2025 and 2026, after Prabowo took office and while Listyo Sigit Prabowo was still national police chief.

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. They said Uliandi approved the request and the files were deleted.

Nasution’s lawyer, Krisna Murti, did not directly address the allegations but said his client would cooperate fully.

“Our client will be open to clarifying this case,” Murti said in a video statement.

Rising reported from Bangkok.