Indonesia considers bug sweeps, tighter controls on spy tools after wiretap scandal
The scandal resulted in the arrest of four senior police officers accused of illegal phone surveillance, including Prabowo Subianto's newly appointed chief of staff.
Indonesia is considering tighter controls on state surveillance equipment and potential bug sweeps of its presidential palace following a wiretapping scandal, according to a senior minister. The scandal began last week with the discovery of illegal wiretaps on the president, top officials, and others. Four senior police officers, including a former national police chief who had recently been appointed as the president's chief of staff, were arrested for unauthorized monitoring of phones.
The government has stated that the wiretapping scandal points to treason, but no formal charges have been announced yet. An investigation is underway, and authorities are taking steps to prevent future misuse of wiretapping equipment by certain agencies. The scandal comes at a challenging time for President Prabowo Subianto, who is facing public pressure over his social programs and efforts to restore investor confidence in Indonesia's economy after a series of setbacks.
The wiretapping devices, if found, are believed to have been located after the national police received a tip from a newly appointed chief of police, who then reported the information to the president.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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