Government Pursues Emergency Visa to Repatriate Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights from Qatar

The Ministry of Law and Human Rights (KemenHAM) is pursuing an emergency visa to repatriate Deputy Minister Mugiyanto, who remains stranded in Doha, Qatar, amid the Middle East regional conflict.

Focusing steps on processing the emergency visa through the Saudi Embassy as an option to accelerate the repatriation of the Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights and the Director of MKPU, said Minister Natalius Pigai when contacted on Thursday (5 March).

He explained that the ministry has coordinated with the Foreign Ministry’s Directorate for the Middle East and the Indonesian Embassy in Doha for visa arrangements.

The Indonesian Embassy in Doha, he said, is coordinating further with the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh regarding the visa application, arrangements for pickup at the Salwa border crossing, and land transport to Riyadh.

The plan, if the emergency visa is granted, is a road journey from Doha to the Saudi border of about one hour, followed by a six-hour road journey from the border to Riyadh. A subsequent domestic flight option from Riyadh to Jeddah or Madinah.

The continued international flight to Jakarta would be direct or via hubs such as Cairo, Muscat, or Istanbul, Pigai said.

He noted that, according to the latest information, the emergency visa application submitted by Riyadh has only just been sent and, to date, no visa has been granted.

The emergency visa facility is not exclusive to Indonesia; it is open to all countries affected by the regional situation, which could potentially lead to significant queues at the borders if all applications are approved simultaneously, he said.