Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has defended its move to deploy members of the military police to guard the headquarters of the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and provide security protection for a number of prosecutors following an alleged move from members of the National Police Anti-Terror Unit Densus 88 to spy on the agency's top prosecutors.
TNI spokesperson Maj. Gen. Nugraha Gumilar confirmed the deployment of the military police personnel on Sunday, saying that the request to provide security protection was made by the AGO and that the move was legal according to a prior agreement signed by leaders of the two institutions in 2023.
"The providing of security was based on a memorandum of understanding [MoU] signed by the TNI and the AGO on April 6, 2023," Nugraha was quoted by Tempo.
The military police began deploying its members to guard the AGO building over the weekend following a report that some members of Densus 88 conducted a surveillance operation on the head of the AGO's special crime unit, Febrie Ardiansyah.
Febrie is currently leading multiple investigations into major graft cases in the country including one involving massive tin mining practices in Bintan island, which is alleged to have caused state losses of around Rp 271 trillion (US$16.9 billion).
Febrie began to notice the presence of a number of police officers when he dined at a French restaurant in South Jakarta on Sunday.
The AGO has not issued an official statement on the spying allegation but confirmed that the deployment of TNI personnel was part of increasing the security of the AGO.