Yusril Claims Abdul Karim Miqdad Is Not a Palestinian Activist

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra has confirmed that Abdul Karim Miqdad is neither an activist nor a scholar from Palestine. Yusril stated that his office had coordinated with the Palestinian Ambassador, and based on their investigation, Abdul Karim is not a Palestinian citizen. According to him, Abdul Karim was merely conducting business activities while in Indonesia. “We have coordinated with the Palestinian Ambassador. Based on the investigation conducted, the person concerned is not a scholar or a humanitarian activist. During his stay in Indonesia, he carried out activities as an ordinary citizen running a business,” he said in a statement on Thursday (23/7). Therefore, Yusril said, the deportation of Abdul Karim to Cyprus does not affect diplomatic relations or Indonesia’s political stance towards Palestine. He stated that the deportation was carried out because Indonesia does not have an extradition treaty with Cyprus. “The deportation was carried out because Indonesia does not have an extradition agreement with the Republic of Cyprus. The request was submitted through Interpol, which had issued a Red Notice against the person concerned after going through a verification process in accordance with applicable regulations,” Yusril explained. Yusril emphasised that the Indonesian Government has also requested a guarantee from the Cypriot Government that Miqdad will not be handed over to Israel. The Cypriot Ambassador, he said, has given a commitment that the person concerned will not be surrendered to any third country. “I have requested explicit confirmation from the Government of Cyprus. They guarantee that the person concerned will not be handed over to any third country because this would contravene the provisions applicable in the Interpol mechanism,” he stated. Previously, rumours circulated on social media that the arrested Abdul Karim was a Palestinian activist. The narrative quoted or resonated with reporting from the Al Jazeera Arabic network, titled ‘Indonesia deports Palestinian activist, raising fears of extradition to Israel’. The report stated that Indonesian authorities arrested Palestinian activist Abdul Karim Raed Miqdad based on a request from Interpol. The Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties (GCRL) also highlighted the case, expressing concern that the process could potentially lead to Abdul Karim being taken to Israel and alleging the legal process might be politically motivated due to his opposition to the genocide in the Gaza Strip.