JAKARTA: Indonesia deployed thousands of police and military personnel to provide security Thursday for a trial involving former President Joko Widodo, as tensions in the capital ran high over allegations that top officers had been involved in intercepting the current president's telephone conversations.
Three senior generals have already been detained in the wiretapping scandal, including Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who had been named chief of staff to President Prabowo Subianto last month.
Listyo previously served as national police chief under Widodo, though the former president has not been implicated in the wiretapping investigation. There are allegations that Cabinet officials, politicians, journalists, civil society leaders and business executives were also subjected to unauthorized surveillance.
After losing two presidential races to Widodo, Prabowo aligned himself with the popular leader and campaigned as his successor, choosing Widodo's son as his running mate in a move that fueled concerns about a growing political dynasty in Indonesia's young democracy.
Widodo and Prabowo were once close political allies, with Widodo backing Prabowo's successful 2024 presidential bid, but their relationship has come under increased scrutiny amid signs of a growing rift since Prabowo took office.
Calls to investigate Widodo
Retired police Gen. Oegroseno, a former deputy national police chief, told the Forum Keadilan TV podcast on Wednesday that investigators should examine all possible lines of command behind the wiretapping, including whether any directives originated from Widodo.
"Investigators should not hesitate to question a former president if necessary," Oegroseno said. "The motive behind the alleged wiretapping operation must be fully uncovered under the leadership of the current police chief."
The wiretapping operation could also constitute a serious human rights violation and could be used to intimidate critics and weaken civil liberties, said Usman Hamid, Amnesty International's executive director in Indonesia.
"This is not merely about the alleged wiretapping of the president," Hamid said in a statement. "Authorities must disclose who else may have been targeted and investigate the full impact of the operation."
Police name a fourth suspect
The Criminal Investigation Agency, known as Bareskrim, named Slamet Uliandi, who heads the agency's Information and Communications Technology Division, as a fourth suspect in the wiretapping investigation.
Uliandi served as a supervisory board member of the Monitoring Center, a wiretapping unit, and allegedly approved a request by another suspect in early October to delete wiretap records to conceal evidence and erase traces of the operation, Suhermanto, director of cybercrime at Bareskrim, said.
Uliandi was not detained because he is recovering from a stroke, said Suhermanto, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name.
Police alleged the unauthorized wiretapping took place between 2025 and 2026, after Prabowo took office and while Listyo was still national police chief. National Police Legal Division head Sonta Nasution and Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior instructor at the National Police Education and Training Institute, were also detained.
Authorities have sent more than 20,000 troops to Jakarta, and on Thursday said that 6,770 police and military personnel had been deployed to secure Widodo's hearing. Widodo was called to testify in a defamation trial stemming from allegations that he used a fake university diploma. The trial is unrelated to the wiretapping case and Widodo denied the diploma allegations.
As he arrived Thursday morning at the East Jakarta District Court, the former president was welcomed by hundreds of supporters chanting messages of encouragement.
Widodo offered a brief response to the investigation into the alleged wiretapping of Prabowo, which has implicated Listyo, a former national police chief often viewed as a close ally of the former president.
"We should all respect the ongoing legal process, let's wait for the (investigation) outcome," Widodo told reporters after attending a court hearing.
The presidential palace has said the wiretaps were being considered an "act of treason" that endangered state interests, but has not linked the deployment of troops to Jakarta to the case.
Indonesian military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Muhammad Nas previously said that the deployment of the 20,000 marines and other personnel to Jakarta was a "normal occurrence." Despite the number of troops sent to Jakarta, there has been no visible military presence on the streets, and authorities have said most are being held in reserve in barracks and other facilities.