Indonesia Wiretap Scandal Deepens: Military Chief Defends Jakarta Deployment as 6,770 Guard Widodo Hearing
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian Armed Forces Commander General Agus Subiyanto responded on Thursday, November 5, to the large-scale military deployment in Jakarta, saying the armed forces were operating under an "alert" (siaga) status to safeguard the sovereignty of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, with the deployment linked to regional training and security readiness. There has been no visible military presence on the streets of Jakarta, and authorities said most forces were being held in reserve in barracks. The deployment comes amid a widening wiretapping scandal: police detained three senior police generals on November 1, accusing them of illegally intercepting the phone calls of President Prabowo Subianto, cabinet ministers, politicians, journalists and business executives in 2025 and 2026. The three are former National Police Chief and former presidential chief of staff Listyo Sigit Prabowo; Inspector General Ahrie Sonta Nasution, head of the National Police Legal Division; and Inspector General Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior expert at the National Police Education and Training Institute. A fourth officer, Inspector General Slamet Uliandi, is listed as a witness. The three suspects are charged under Article 258 and/or Article 332 of the Criminal Code and Article 32(1) of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law, carrying up to 10 years in prison, and are held at the National Police Headquarters detention facility. The military said about 21,000 personnel had been mobilised for Jakarta: 2,100 in place since November 2, about 5,700 arriving on November 4 and 13,140 on standby. On Thursday, November 5, 6,770 police and military personnel were deployed to secure a defamation trial hearing in East Jakarta at which former President Joko Widodo testified; police stressed the trial was unrelated to the wiretapping case and Widodo was not implicated. East Jakarta Police Chief Alfian Nurrizal said the deployment was simply a precautionary measure. Prabowo dismissed Listyo as chief of staff on November 4, barely a month after appointing him on October 1.
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Source: Indonesian National Armed Forces
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：印度尼西亚军方人员（2026 年，资料图）。Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。 / Photo: Indonesian military personnel (2026, file photo). Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
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