Indonesia arrests 36 terror suspects including policewomen ahead of Jokowi inauguration

At least 36 suspected militants have been arrested ahead of Joko Widodo’s inauguration, which leaders from China, Singapore and Malaysia will attend

The suspects include two former policewomen and all have links to the JAD, the largest Indonesian affiliate of the Islamic State

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who will be inaugurated for his second term on Sunday. Photo: AP

Published: 5:00pm, 16 Oct 2019Updated: 9:07am, 17 Oct 2019

At least 36 suspected militants, including two former policewomen, have been arrested in recent weeks for plotting suicide bombings and assembling explosive devices ahead of Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s inauguration for his second term this Sunday, police have said.

Four of those detained were suspected suicide bombers aiming to attack police stations and non-Muslim places of worship in the West Java city of Cirebon, and the Central Java cities of Solo and Yogyakarta, national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said on Tuesday.

One of the four was a policewoman from Yogyakarta named Nesti Ide Sami, an anti-terror police source told This Week in Asia.

Nesti is believed to be linked to Jemaah Ansharut Daulah, the largest Indonesian affiliate of Islamic State (Isis), which has been responsible for most of the terror attacks in the Muslim-majority country in the past four years.

Police spokesman Brigadier General Dedi Prasetyo briefs journalists in Jakarta. Photo: AFP

On Wednesday, another national police spokesman, M. Iqbal, said the force had raised its level of internal monitoring. Both policewomen had been fired for violating the police code of ethics for deserting the police force. They will now be dealt with by the judiciary for the alleged terror activities, he said.