Lawyer Appreciates Police, Hopes Sheikh Ahmad Al Misry Is Repatriated Soon
The legal representative of the victims of alleged sexual abuse by Sheikh Ahmad Al Misry (SAM), Achmad Kholidin, has expressed appreciation for the National Police’s decision to name SAM a suspect and issue a red notice. He expressed hope that the Egyptian government will be cooperative in repatriating the fugitive to Indonesia.
“We greatly appreciate the Bareskrim investigators who have named Al Misry a suspect and submitted a red notice against Al Misry, and this red notice has been approved by the Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon, France,” said Achmad Kholidin to detikcom on Thursday (20/8/2026).
According to him, with the red notice status approved by Interpol, there should be no reason for member countries not to detain the suspect. He urged Egyptian authorities to act immediately.
“Therefore, all Interpol member countries, including the Egyptian police, must assist in locating and temporarily detaining the perpetrator listed in the red notice,” he said.
“We hope the Egyptian government can send Al Misry back to Indonesia to be held accountable for the crimes of molestation, abuse, and same-sex sexual violence against minors,” Achmad Kholidin stressed.
He confirmed that his team will proactively provide information regarding Sheikh Ahmad Al Misry’s current whereabouts in Egypt to Bareskrim investigators.
“We will also provide as much information as possible to National Police Headquarters investigators regarding Al Misry’s whereabouts in Egypt, from our informants in Egypt,” he concluded.
Extradition Obstacles
Previously, Bareskrim Polri revealed a number of obstacles in efforts to repatriate Sheikh Ahmad Al Misry to Indonesia. The Head of Sub-Directorate II of the Directorate of Crimes Against Women and Children and Certain Crimes (PPA-PPO) at Bareskrim Polri, Senior Commissioner Faisal Febrianto, stated that the main problem lies in citizenship status and the absence of an extradition treaty between Indonesia and Egypt.
“Regarding dual citizenship, when the perpetrator or suspect applied to become an Indonesian citizen, automatically, because we do not recognise dual citizenship, one of the original citizenships, namely Egyptian, must be relinquished by the person concerned,” Faisal explained at Bareskrim Polri on Monday (19/8).
However, investigators’ further examination revealed that Egyptian law allows SAM to retain Egyptian citizenship despite having become an Indonesian citizen. This creates a legal loophole for the suspect to remain there.
“But after further investigation, regarding the original citizenship, it turns out Egypt has regulations allowing dual citizenship,” Faisal said.
Modus Operandi of Promising Education in Egypt
The Director of Crimes Against Women and Children and Certain Crimes at Bareskrim Polri, Brigadier General Nurul Azizah, revealed that a total of five people were victims in this case, four of whom were minors. SAM allegedly exploited his status as a Quran teacher to abuse the victims from 2017 to 2025.
“The modus operandi is that the suspect, who claims to be a religious figure and Quran teacher of the victims, used his influence to commit sexual violence in the form of molestation against the victims by promising to facilitate their studies or schooling in Egypt,” Nurul explained.
Police investigations found that these depraved acts were committed in various locations, from Purbalingga, Sukabumi, Bandung, Jakarta, to Egypt. Currently, the National Police continues to maximise international cooperation through Interpol channels to bring SAM back to Indonesia.