Named a Suspect, Nabilah O'Brien, Kemang Restaurant Owner, to File a Pretrial Motion

South Jakarta-based Nabilah O’Brien, owner of a Kemang restaurant in Mampang Prapatan, was named a suspect by the Indonesian National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) in connection with allegations of defamation brought by a married couple identified by the initials Z and E. Nabilah said she would file a praperadilan (pretrial) to challenge her suspect status, arguing that the investigation should be halted and that transparency is required.

‘What kind of praperadilan will we pursue? We will undertake it. With all means to cancel the suspect status of our client and to stop this investigation, we will do so,’ her counsel Goldie Natasya Swarovski said at a press conference in Kemang, South Jakarta, on Friday (6 March 2026).

Goldie said Nabilah will pursue all legal avenues. They have even asked for a special case hearing: ‘We have written to Wassidik for a gelar perkara khusus; I hope Birowassidik can view this objectively,’ she explained.

Nabilah has also reported the Bareskrim investigators to the Propam Division of the Police. Goldie said they have already met with Paminal.

‘Thirdly, we have also informed Paminal, and Paminal themselves contacted us; so I think, since it is in the right hands, there is no need to say more. I also trust that the Police still has its dignity,’ she said.

Goldie admitted she was puzzled why uploading CCTV footage about the alleged theft would lead to Nabilah being named a suspect, given that she says Z and E left the restaurant without paying for what they ordered.

‘If disseminating CCTV footage were a criminal act, people wouldn’t want to share CCTV. Crime happens everywhere, officer. So if you ask how it could be possible? I don’t know. The CCTV footage is real, the victims are real, the material loss is real. Even Z and E have become suspects at the police station,’ she said.

Next, Nabilah said Z and E had come to her restaurant to order food but did not pay. She also saw them insulting her staff.

‘You came to my place, took 14 food and beverage items without paying a single rupiah. Not only that, you insulted my staff, entered the kitchen area, and shouted at staff who were working to earn a living,’ she said.

She added that Z and E had no conscience when they reported her back to Bareskrim, although she says Z and E admitted taking the meals.

‘You reported me back. For what? You yourselves have admitted taking the meals. But now you are demanding Rp 1 billion for five months,’ she said.

‘I’m just a member of the public, a small business owner trying to support many people behind me. Rp 1 billion is utterly unreasonable compared with the meals you took,’ she added.

Nabilah said the investigation process by Bareskrim was peculiar and that the speed with which she was named a suspect was very fast.

‘The CCTV recording exists, and the CCTV never lies. I may not know or understand the relevant laws, but since this happened, I have truly analysed. I know what justice and truth are,’ she declared.

‘I was forced to bring this to the media because remaining cooperative for five months has not sufficed for Bareskrim, the shield of the Police in this country,’ Nabilah stated.

She also expressed gratitude to the government for its attention to the case, saying she had not been focused on work lately.

‘I would like to thank President Prabowo. And I would also like to thank Habiburokhman, Chair of Commission 3. Thank you very much,’ she said.

‘And please look at me, I am stressed. I have found it hard to focus on work for the last five months. Suddenly I was made a suspect simply for voicing the facts for myself and public safety,’ she added.