Who guards the guardians? In Indonesia, the question just got uncomfortable. Three Indonesian police generals, including the force's former chief, may have been quietly spying on the president himself.
Three police generals, including the force's former chief, have been detained over allegations they illegally tapped President Prabowo Subianto's telephone communications and those of dozens of other powerful figures, including politicians, journalists, government officials and businesspeople.
The allegations are extraordinary: officers entrusted with enforcing the law allegedly used the country's own surveillance system to monitor those at the top of government. Who was really watching Indonesia's leadership, and why, now demands an answer.
The three suspects were identified as Presidential Chief of Staff Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, National Police Legal Division head Insp. Gen. Ahrie Sonta Nasution and Insp. Gen. Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior instructor at the National Police Education and Training Institute.
Asep Safrudin, head of the National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency, said the officers were being investigated for illegally intercepting communications, accessing electronic systems without authorisation and deleting electronic data.
'The suspects are alleged to have carried out nonprocedural or illegal tapping against the telephone numbers of the president of the Republic of Indonesia, state officials, political figures, media figures, community leaders, NGO activists and businesspeople,' Safrudin told a news conference at police headquarters late Tuesday.
Neither Prabowo nor the three suspects have publicly responded to the allegations. A spokesperson for the Presidential Chief of Staff's office could not be reached for comment.
How Police Allegedly Used a Government Surveillance System To Spy on the Powerful
The alleged operation is especially troubling because of the tool involved. Investigators believe the officers used a state system designed to manage authorised surveillance.
Police say the illegal wiretapping happened between 2025 and 2026, while Listyo was National Police chief.
The rules are clear. A 2010 police regulation requires wiretaps to follow established procedures. Safrudin alleged the suspects skipped them. Several phone numbers were allegedly entered into the Lawful Interception Management System (LIMS) with no verification.
Then, police allege, came the cover-up. The officers also ordered files of intercepted communications deleted from LIMS, apparently to hide evidence and erase their tracks.
Police have questioned 10 witnesses and three experts, and seized 11 phones, an iPad and four flash drives. Still unanswered: who was monitored, how many people were affected, and why.
'This Is Not a Minor Issue': Indonesia Rules Out Treason for Now
The concern now reaches the top. Reports suggest the people being watched may have included the president himself, along with other powerful figures.
Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra said investigators had found no indication of treason involving the three active senior police officers.
However, he warned that the alleged surveillance was still an extremely serious matter.
'But when it comes to matters like this ... imagine if a president were intercepted or wiretapped, or if government ministers were under surveillance, and we do not know why the wiretapping was carried out. This is not a minor issue, it is a serious matter for any country,' Mahendra said at a separate news conference Tuesday evening.
The suspects are expected to face several charges, including Article 258 of Indonesia's new Criminal Code, which prohibits the unlawful interception, recording, diversion, alteration, obstruction or monitoring of non-public electronic communications.
The offence carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
They also face potential charges under Article 332 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum six-year sentence, and Article 32 of Indonesia's Electronic Information and Transactions Law, which criminalises the unauthorised alteration, destruction, deletion, transfer or concealment of electronic information. That offence carries a maximum eight-year prison sentence.
The investigation remains ongoing, with authorities yet to disclose the motive behind the alleged wiretapping.
And that may be the most unsettling part of the entire affair. Indonesia has not uncovered a confirmed coup attempt, and officials say there is currently no evidence of treason. But the allegations raise an extraordinary question: if the people responsible for protecting the president were allegedly monitoring him instead, who was watching the watchers?
