UMY Rectorate Responds After Students Detain Alleged Police Intel on Campus

A protest that had been proceeding orderly became a public talking point after an incident in which a member of the Yogyakarta Regional Police (Polda DIY) intelligence unit was allegedly found infiltrating the UMY campus environment. The police intelligence officer was detained by students following a demonstration at the 0 km point of Yogyakarta City on Wednesday (17/6/2026). As the crowd returned from the protest site to the campus, they were startled by an unfamiliar figure who was not part of their group. The individual, who claimed to be a police intelligence officer, was subsequently detained by the students. “BEM KM UMY notes that the UMY Bergerak alliance action proceeded in an orderly and conducive manner. However, the crowd’s return to campus was marked by a shocking incident when an unfamiliar figure suspected of spying on protest participants at the main gate was unable to show identification and attempted to flee, but his escape was thwarted by the crowd,” wrote the UMY Bergerak alliance in an official statement on its Instagram account @umy_bergerak. Responding to the incident, UMY Vice Rector for Education and Student Affairs, Prof. Dr. Zuly Qodir, stated that the police should not have needed to enter the campus area and should have simply monitored from outside. “They really should not have needed to come onto the campus,” Zuly Qodir said in an official statement. Zuly Qodir said the police were expected to only observe and monitor from outside the campus if they merely wished to supervise and report on the situation of the demonstration. He asserted that if this had been the case, the student detention incident would certainly not have occurred. “Actually, if it had been like that, there definitely would not have been an incident like last night. But because he entered, there was inevitably an incident, and he was shouted at and surrounded by many students,” he said. He also stated that all students participating in the demonstration had been registered before they conveyed their aspirations. “Students who depart must be properly registered, and upon return, their numbers must match. That is part of the shared responsibility in maintaining security and order during the action,” Zuly explained. In response to the incident, the Head of Public Relations of Polda DIY, Commissioner Pol Ihsan, confirmed that one of his officers was on duty providing security for the public expression of opinion.