Jakarta – The Indonesian Embassy in Saudi Arabia has said that the government never prevented Rizieq Shihab, the controversial leader of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), from returning to Indonesia.
The firebrand cleric recently announced that he would arrive in Indonesia on Nov. 10 after roughly three years of self exile in the Islamic Kingdom.
"The Indonesian government has never prevented [Rizieq] from returning home," said Ambassador Agus Maftuh Abegebriel on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.
Four tickets had reportedly been booked for Rizieq's return flight, he added.
The ambassador said last year that Rizieq would have to pay a hefty fine for overstaying in Saudi Arabia before he could be allowed to return to his home country. The cleric's visa expired in July 2018, according to media reports.
It is estimated that Rizieq will have to pay an overstay fine of Rp 110 million (US$7,498) per person to the Saudi Arabian government. However, FPI chairman Ahmad Shabri Lubis and 212 Alumni Brotherhood (PA 212) chairman Slamet Maarif claimed that the overstay problem had been resolved.
When announcing his plan to return home, Rizieq claimed that he did not receive any assistance from the Indonesian government and dismissed claims that Jakarta had lobbied Riyadh to get him home.
Agus said Rizieq's case had not been on the list of priorities for the Indonesian Embassy in Riyadh as the diplomatic office focused more on cases related to the lives of Indonesian citizens in the kingdom, including those on death row.
Specifically, the embassy was involved in efforts to save an Indonesian citizen who faced the death penalty as a result of an incident that occurred 12 years ago, Agus said. "This is what we've been prioritizing. We have to enter rural areas of Saudi Arabia to lobby community leaders and the victim's heirs to find a solution."
Rizieq had never requested assistance from the embassy or any other Indonesian diplomatic office in Saudi Arabia, Agus said.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD said on Thursday that the government would not prevent Rizieq from coming home. "We've never stopped him from going home. If he was impeded, it is his business with the Saudi Arabian government."
Rizieq left for Mecca in 2017 to go on umrah (minor haj) shortly after the National Police charged him in connection with a pornography case and for allegedly insulting the Pancasila state ideology. Though the police dropped both charges last year, the FPI leader has remained in Saudi Arabia ever since. (mfp)