By Basant El-Faramawy
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto dismissed his chief of staff, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, on Wednesday over allegations of illegal wiretapping that could constitute treason, his office announced.
Arrests and Allegations
Listyo, who is not related to the president, was arrested Tuesday along with two other senior police officers on suspicion of tapping phones of the president, cabinet ministers, journalists, politicians, and business leaders from 2025 to 2026. He had served as national police chief for five years before becoming chief of staff last month.
Presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said the actions may amount to treason and endanger state interests and the safety of the nation's leadership. The government has not yet determined a motive, according to Coordinating Minister for Law and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra.
Police said the suspects conducted wiretaps without formal investigative requests and ordered deletion of electronic monitoring records last month. The other two suspects were identified as Ahrie Sonta Nasution, head of the national police legal division, and Eko Hadi Santoso, a senior officer at the national police educational institution.
Political Fallout
The arrests come as Prabowo faces declining approval ratings, policy discontent, and economic challenges including a stock market selloff and currency decline. Analyst Yanuar Nugroho suggested the chief of staff role had diminished under Prabowo and that Listyo, a loyalist of former President Joko Widodo, may have been moved to sideline him from the police chief post.
