"Coordination is first being sought with the Interpol," Chairman of the Metro Jaya Police`s Legal Directorate Senior Commissioner Agus Rohmat stated.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Investigators of the Jakarta Police Metro Jaya will coordinate with the International Police (Interpol) to seek the whereabouts of Rizieq Syihab, chairman of the Islam Defenders Front.

"Coordination is first being sought with the Interpol," Chairman of the Metro Jaya Polices Legal Directorate Senior Commissioner Agus Rohmat stated here, Thursday.

The efforts to establish coordination are being made by involving the National Police Headquarters Criminal Investigation Department.

The police have issued an arrest warrant against Syihab and included his name on the wanted persons list.

"We have not issued a red notice," he revealed.

He said Syihab is currently in Saudi Arabia since April 26, 2017, based on immigration data.

On May 29, 2017, Syihab was officially named as a suspect in a pornographic case after screenshots of sexually explicit WhatsApp chats that allegedly took place between Syihab and a treason suspect Firza Husein, went viral.

Husein has also been named a suspect in the case and was arrested on May 16 in the same case after she underwent 12 hours of questioning at the Jakarta Police headquarters.

Syihab has failed to honor two police summons for questioning on Apr 25 and May 10, as he left the country with his family to embark on umrah, or minor Hajj pilgrimage, in Saudi Arabia.

"As a last resort, we will request that Interpol issue a red notice against Syihab if there are no signs of him returning to Indonesia," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr Comr Argo Yuwono was quoted as earlier saying on May 30 by the Jakarta Post.

Meanwhile, speaking in connection with the circulation of screenshots of the alleged pornographic chats between Syihab and Husein, Senior Commissioner Agus Rohmat recently noted during a television interview that the chat screenshots were shared on social media by Anonymous.

"We have been serious in looking for (those who distributed the chat screenshots), but (we) have not been able to find (him/her)," Yuwono stated.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017