Indonesia arrests deputy immigration minister on graft charges

Indonesia's deputy minister for immigration and correctional affairs, Silmy Karim, has been arrested on corruption charges, the country's anti-graft agency confirmed Thursday. The arrest marks the second high-profile government official detained for graft in as many days.

Karim faces allegations of corrupt practices in the administration of immigration documents between 2023 and 2024, a period during which he served as director general for immigration under former President Joko Widodo. He was seen in handcuffs and wearing an orange jacket, indicating his status as a suspect, after being questioned for about 10 hours.

The anti-graft agency, KPK, also identified seven other suspects in connection with Karim's case. Further details were expected later Thursday. This arrest follows the detention of Dadan Hindayana, a former head of an agency overseeing President Prabowo Subianto's flagship free meals program, on corruption charges related to the program's governance and procurement.

President Prabowo Subianto, who took office in 2024, vowed to eradicate corruption and curb the illegal exploitation of natural resources. The recent detentions, including that of the chief ombudsman in April, underscore the challenges in fulfilling this pledge. State Secretariat Minister Prasetyo Hadi expressed concern over the repeated events, stating the government respects the legal proceedings.

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Honestly, we have been deeply concerned over the past two days by the repeated events which we clearly did not expect.