Indonesia: three police generals arrested for wiretapping President Prabowo as 20,000 troops head to Jakarta

Indonesian police have detained three senior police generals suspected of illegally wiretapping President Prabowo Subianto and dozens of other prominent figures, Criminal Investigation Agency chief Asep Safrudin said, AP and ABC reported.

The suspects are General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, the former national police chief whom the president appointed chief of staff in October and dismissed on Wednesday; the head of the police legal division, Inspector General Ahrie Sonta Nasution; and Inspector General Eko Hadi Santoso. According to police, the wiretapping took place in 2025 and 2026, when Listyo headed the force, and also targeted state officials, politicians, media figures, activists and businesspeople. Numbers were allegedly entered into the lawful interception system without verification, and the suspects ordered the recordings deleted in late October.

Treason or not?

State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said the palace views the surveillance of the president as an act "leading toward treason". Coordinating Minister for Law Yusril Ihza Mahendra had earlier said investigators found no indication of treason. The suspects face up to ten years in prison under the new criminal code. Police questioned ten witnesses and seized 11 mobile phones, an iPad and four flash drives.

The affair comes as Prabowo's popularity slides: according to an SMRC poll, his approval fell from 81.2 percent in November 2025 to 44.5 percent in October, amid protests over economic policy, wildfires on Sumatra and Kalimantan and a falling rupiah.