Indonesian President Prabowo Sacks Chief of Staff Arrested Over Alleged Wiretapping of President and Ministers
Jakarta, Indonesia — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto signed a presidential decree on November 4 removing his chief of staff, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, from office. A day earlier, Listyo and two other senior police officers were detained on suspicion of illegally wiretapping the president, cabinet ministers and many others.
Presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi told reporters at the presidential palace in Jakarta on November 4 that what was done may already amount to an act tending toward treason and endangering state security. The president appointed Lieutenant General Ariyo Windutomo, head of the Presidential Secretariat, as acting head of the Presidential Staff Office. Listyo shares the president's surname, Prabowo, but is not a relative.
Police said late on November 3 that the three suspects were being investigated for unlawful wiretaps carried out from 2025 into this year, targeting the president, state officials, journalists, politicians, businesspeople and leaders of mass organizations and non-governmental groups. Indonesian media named the other two suspects as Ahrie Sonta Nasution, head of the national police legal division, and Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior officer at a national police educational institution; the three are being held at national police headquarters.
Listyo had served as national police chief for five years and was among Indonesia's most senior police figures. On October 1, 2026, Prabowo removed him as police chief and appointed him chief of staff, a post he held for just over a month.
Yusril Ihza Mahendra, the senior minister for legal affairs, said the government has yet to determine the motive for the wiretapping and that the investigation is at an early stage. The case reportedly surfaced after an officer reported it on October 30; investigators have seized mobile phones and other digital devices and questioned witnesses and experts. The palace said it would coordinate with the new national police chief to keep police services running.
Source: Reuters
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：印度尼西亚总统普拉博沃2024年官方肖像。公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Official portrait of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, 2024. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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