News about Saracen, a for-hire cyber-criminal network that has allegedly been spreading hateful memes based on race and religion in Indonesia, has been dominating the local media ever since police announced that they had arrested three of the group’s alleged leaders yesterday. It seems like the scandal is going to get even deeper with new information suggesting that huge political and public personalities were involved in the so-called meme syndicate.
The National Police’s Cyber Crimes Directorate is currently investigating a list of names which purport to show Saracen’s organizational structure, a list that has been already been spreading on social media.
The most notable of those names is Eggi Sudjana, a lawyer who is representing hardline group Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab in various criminal cases, including his controversial pornography case. In the information that has been circulated, Eggi’s name was listed as one of the group’s consultants.
However, the police have not yet confirmed Eggi’s involvement in Saracen.
“We are still looking into all information,” said Susatyo Purnomo, head of a Cyber Crimes Unit for the National Police, as quoted by CNN Indonesia today.
Eggi himself denied that he had any involvement with Saracen.
“That’s a vile lie. I have only heard of Saracen today,” Eggi told CNN Indonesia.
Eggi added that he is willing to be investigated by the police about his alleged involvement with the group.
“I’m very willing, but it’s better that (the police) cross-check first before summoning people for questioning. This could potentially be libelous,” he said.
Besides Eggi, another name that stood out on the list was that of former military general Ampi Tanudjiwa, who also denied his involvement. There are 39 additional names in the list, comprising treasurers, coordinators, and even an IT team.
Police yesterday arrested three people thought to be leaders of Saracen, one of them being the founder and main recruiter for the network. The suspects may be jailed for up to 6 years for hate speech under the Information and Electronic Transactions Act (UU ITE).
Police say the suspects revealed that they had clients who were willing to pay millions of rupiah for the group to create and share hateful memes online. The clients’ identities are still under investigation.
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