YLBHI Condemns TNI Deployment to Guard Jampidsus' Residence
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) has condemned the involvement of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) in the investigation of alleged corruption at state-owned enterprises PT PLN, ASABRI, and Krakatau Steel. Dozens of TNI personnel were deployed to guard the residence of the Junior Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus), Febrie Adriansyah, following a series of police searches.
YLBHI Chairman M. Isnur stated that the military’s involvement could potentially serve as intimidation and obstruct the legal process, amounting to obstruction of justice. “This action hinders law enforcement and obscures the process of evidence discovery,” he said in an official statement on Thursday, 9 July 2026.
He argued that this incident confirms YLBHI’s previous concerns regarding TNI involvement in securing the Attorney General’s Office. Such involvement is regulated by Presidential Regulation Number 66 of 2025 on State Protection for Prosecutors. Isnur deemed the regulation unconstitutional, asserting that it is not within the TNI’s authority. “This policy paves the way for the military to enter the civilian domain, law enforcement, and the judicial system beyond defence matters,” he said.
Isnur stressed that the TNI should not be involved in civilian law enforcement, nor act as personal guards for prosecution officials or as a tool to pressure investigators. He also insisted that law enforcement apparatus must not be drawn into political conflicts, institutional disputes, or power struggles between state bodies. “If a criminal investigation must face the deployment of troops and military guards, it is not just one case that is threatened, but the very foundation of the rule of law itself,” he said.
He warned that this situation sets a dangerous precedent for the future of law enforcement in Indonesia, suggesting that legal processes cannot touch state officials. He called on President Prabowo Subianto to order the TNI Commander to refrain from intervening in law enforcement.
Dozens of TNI personnel were observed guarding Febrie Adriansyah’s luxury residence on Jalan Radio, Kramat Pela, South Jakarta, on Wednesday evening, 8 July 2026. The guard was mounted after police searched Cafe de’Clan Signatur in Cipete, South Jakarta, earlier that day. The search was conducted by investigators from the Police’s Corruption Eradication Corps (Kortastipidkor) and the Metro Jaya Regional Police’s General Criminal Investigation Directorate.
Brigadier General Muhammad Nas, Head of the TNI Information Centre, stated that the guard was carried out at the request of the Attorney General’s Office as part of inter-agency cooperation, in line with Presidential Regulation Number 66 of 2025 on state protection for prosecutors.
Kortastipidkor Chief Inspector General Totok Suharyanto said the search was related to corruption, money laundering, and bribery cases at PT Asabri, as well as a coal supply corruption case that caused blackouts in Sumatra and a case at PT Krakatau Steel. A total of eight locations were searched that day, including the café and a money changer.
Polda Metro Jaya’s Head of Public Relations, Senior Commissioner Budi Hermanto, urged all parties to respect the police investigation process, noting that obstructing an investigation violates Article 21 of the Corruption Eradication Law.