Police Use of Israeli Intelligence Device Revealed in Court

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The use of Cellebrite intelligence technology by the National Police headquarters (Mabes Polri) was revealed during a follow-up trial in the hoax case with defendant Jumhur Hidayat at the South Jakarta District Court, Monday, April 5. 

During the trial, state prosecutors presented Mabes Polri digital forensic expert, Asep Saputra, as a witness. Asep also revealed the steps of how the police managed to extract Jumhur's digital data. 

“The digital data analysis is only related to Jumhur’s post related to the Job Creation Omnibus Law,” Asep Saputra said. 

This device that was used to extract the defendant’s data is made by Cellebrite—an Israeli Digital Intelligence company that provides tools for collection, analysis, and management of digital data—which is believed to be able to take digital data from electronic devices such as smartphones, computers, memory cards, and hard drives. 

Asep asserted the police only extracted the defendant’s data pertaining to his post that mentioned the omnibus law. He assured that Jumhur’s tweet posted from the defendant’s mobile device was the basis of the criminal charges made against him. 

One of the defendant’s lawyers, Hariz Azhar, said in court that “the use of the [extraction device] is still debatable. This means that a device that is able to breach mobile phones exists,” said Azhar.

Jumhur Hidayat argued police investigators did not give him any options as his digital data were extracted from him. “Well, what else should I do? Could I reject [this method]? No, right?”

Public prosecutors are charging Jumhur Hidayat—a notable figure in the Save Indonesia Coalition (KAMI)—for intentionally spreading misinformation that caused a public tumult through his personal Twitter account. 

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ANTARA