Coordinating Minister For Political, Legal And Security Affairs Updated The Number Of Indonesian Students Victims Of TIP In Germany Is 1,900 People

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Hadi Tjahjanto. (doc the Ministry of ATR-BPN)

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Hadi Tjahjanto revealed that the current number of Indonesian students who were victims of criminal acts of trafficking in persons (TPPO) in Germany was 1,900 people.

Hadi said the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs was still identifying the possibility that they would become victims of TIP under the guise of an internship program in Germany.

In the current stage, Hadi plans to coordinate with related agencies to solve the issue of the alleged TIP.

"For the issue of coordination (investigation), first with Higher Education (Ministry of Education, Culture, and Higher Education), the second (investigating) with the National Police, the third with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to identify the process of sending (students) so that from these steps we will separate what is best to save the students. We identify approximately 1,900 students," Hadi said on the sidelines of his activities checking security at the Jakarta Cathedral Church, Thursday, March 28, confiscated by Antara.

Previously in Yogyakarta on Wednesday, March 27, Hadi said the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs would form a special team to investigate allegations of TIP victims who were Indonesian students. Then when met at the Cathedral today, Hadi emphasized that he would directly lead the special team.

The team, he continued, would be filled, including representatives from ministries that deal with higher education, Bareskrim Polri, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Hadi said coordination, including informally, has so far been carried out with these agencies.

The alleged TIP case whose victims were indicated by Indonesian students in Germany has emerged to the public since mid-March 2024. The Criminal Investigation Unit of the National Police began investigating the case after receiving a report from the Indonesian Embassy in Germany.

"Students are employed non-procedurally, resulting in students being explored," said the Director of General Crimes at Bareskrim Polri Brigadier General Pol. Djuhandhani Rahardjo Puro in Jakarta, Wednesday, March 20.

So far, the National Police have named five suspects on suspicion of TIP, consisting of three women, respectively ER alias EW (39 years old), A alias AE (37 years old), and AJ (52 years old), then two male suspects each with the initials AS (65 years old) and MZ (60 years old). Two of the five suspects are still in Germany.