Police Say Abdul Karim's Terror Network Arrested in Malaysia
The International Relations Division of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) has stated that Abdul Karim Miqdad, a Palestinian citizen arrested and deported from Indonesia, was affiliated with a terror network that had already been dismantled in Malaysia.
Brigadier General Untung Widyatmoko, Secretary of the NCB of Polri’s International Relations Division, denied claims that the individual was a religious figure or Palestinian activist.
He emphasised that an international fugitive status, or Red Notice, would not be issued if the case related to religious or political matters.
“An Interpol Red Notice will not be issued if the wanted subject is connected to politics or religion. Clearly, when someone has a Red Notice issued, it has gone through strict verification,” he told journalists on Wednesday (22 July).
Untung explained that the individual’s involvement in the terror network had been proven, hence the fugitive status was officially issued by Interpol. He said the terror network linked to Abdul Karim had already been arrested earlier by Malaysian authorities.
“His network in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was arrested first. The role of the network is clear — the individual concerned was a perpetrator,” he said.
Untung said the request for fugitive status against Abdul Karim was submitted by the Cypriot government in May 2026 following a bomb explosion incident in the Nicosia area.
He said the fugitive status was then officially issued by Interpol on 10 June 2026. Subsequently, Untung said, the individual was detected entering Indonesian territory from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“If anyone says we did something outside procedure, that is completely wrong. The Interpol Red Notice was issued on 10 June 2026, and it was known that the individual entered Indonesian territory from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,” he said.
According to Untung, the deportation was carried out because Abdul Karim was deemed to pose a potential security threat within Indonesia. He said the step was also part of Indonesia’s obligations as an Interpol member state.
“We carried out the deportation because of the potential threat domestically, and of course in accordance with procedure as an Interpol member state, given that there is an arrest warrant and a suspect designation from the Cyprus Police,” he concluded.
Previously, Polri stated that Abdul Karim Raed Miqdad was an Interpol fugitive in a terrorism case under a Red Notice issued by the NCB Interpol Nicosia, Cyprus. Abdul Karim was arrested in Indonesia on Thursday (16 July) and deported to the Republic of Cyprus the following day.
Polri also revealed that Abdul Karim was carrying three passports when he was detained. Upon inspection, two of them were suspected to be fake passports falling under the Stolen and Lost Travel Document (SLTD) category.