Number of Indonesian terror suspects down this year

Down to 142 terror suspects from 248 in 2022.

Almost all the arrests made this year were preemptive and preventive strikes, says an official. Pictured are members of Indonesian counterterrorism force Densus 88 during a demonstration. (Photo: Densus 88)

JAKARTA: Indonesian police arrested 142 terror suspects this year as of Dec. 16, down from 248 in the corresponding period in 2022, said an official.

So, we see a very significant decrease," Aswin Siregar, the spokesperson for Densus 88, Indonesia’s counterterrorism force, told at a press conference in Jakarta, Wednesday (Dec. 20), according to Antara.

He detailed that of the 142 suspects, 16 suspects were under investigation, 101 suspects in the process of being investigated, 23 suspects transferred to the public prosecutor’s office and two suspects died when law enforcement was carried out in Lampung in April 2023.

The 142 suspects arrested came from different terrorist groups or networks, namely the pro-Islamic State Jemaah Ansharud Dawlah or JAD with 29 suspects, the Jemaah Islamiyah network with 50 suspects, the Abu Omar group affiliated with JAD with 49 suspects, the Jemaah Ansharud Syariah (JAS) group with seven suspects, five suspects from the Islamic State of Indonesia (NII) and two suspects from supporters of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

According to Siregar, this decline showed the effectiveness and success of Densus 88 in suppressing terrorism cases.

"Almost all the arrests we made this year were preemptive and preventive strikes," Siregar emphasised.

This achievement, said Aswin, was in accordance with the policy of the National Police Chief, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, and Densus 88 in prosecuting and preventing criminal acts of terrorism.

"Thank God, up to now there haven’t been any [explosions/attacks],” he said.

Siregar also said the decline showed that the prevention and deradicalism efforts have been quite successful with the number of repeat offenders decreasing.

"So the number of recidivism or repeat offenders has fallen according to the statistics," said Siregar.

Of the 142 suspects arrested during 2023, four have been accused of criminal acts of terrorism and criminal acts of financing terrorism.

The 142 suspects consisted of 138 men and four women.