A former Indonesian police officer from an elite paramilitary unit who deserted his post and later claimed he had joined a Russian mercenary force fighting in Ukraine has been stripped of his citizenship, according to authorities.
Muhammad Rio, a former member of the Aceh Police’s Mobile Brigade Corps (Brimob), a paramilitary arm of Indonesia’s national police, lost his citizenship after joining a foreign armed force without authorisation, Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas said.
“Anyone – whether a Brimob officer or an ordinary civilian – who joins a foreign military without the president’s permission automatically loses their Indonesian citizenship. That is clearly stipulated in the law,” Supratman told the Jakarta Globe on Monday.
Rio had been absent without leave since December 8 after leaving his post, according to Tempo news magazine. The Aceh police issued two summonses for him on December 25 and January 6.
On January 7, he sent a WhatsApp message and video to several superiors and colleagues saying he had joined Russia’s mercenary force, the Wagner Group, and outlining his pay.
“He described the registration process and the salary he received in roubles converted to rupiah,” Aceh Regional Police public relations head Joko Krisdiyanto said on Saturday.
In the video, which later circulated on social media, Rio said he earned a monthly salary of 210,000 roubles (US$2,700), along with a signing bonus of 2 million roubles.
“I was specifically recruited by the Wagner Group as a reconnaissance and killing unit. My task is to infiltrate and remain on standby,” he said.
Describing conditions at the front line, Rio said he wore white camouflage to blend in with the snow and dodged explosions every day. He also apologised to his former colleagues, saying he was seeking new challenges and a better salary.
Though Rio did not disclose his exact location, Joko said he was believed to be in the Donbas, the site of some of the fiercest fighting in the war.
Two days after the message was sent, Indonesia’s National Police Code of Ethics Commission dishonourably discharged Rio for desertion with a final rank of second police brigadier, public broadcaster iNews reported.
This is not the first time Rio has been censured by the ethics committee, according to Joko. He had previously been demoted for adultery and having an unregistered marriage.
Rio is the second former member of Indonesia’s uniformed services known to have lost their citizenship over service linked to Russia’s war effort.
Satria Arta Kumbara, a former Indonesian Navy Marine fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, has also had his citizenship revoked, according to Supratman.
Satria confirmed he was in Ukraine, insisting he was not a mercenary but “a regular soldier in the Russian army”. He said he was fighting alongside “citizens from China, Cameroon, Ghana and Colombia”, in comments to the news outlet Republika on May 10.
In a video posted on social media on July 21, Satria asked to be allowed to return home. Wearing a military uniform, he addressed the camera: “Due to my ignorance, I signed a contract with the Russian ministry of defence, which resulted in the revocation of my citizenship … I humbly ask for your magnanimity to help me terminate this contract and restore my right to citizenship so I can return to Indonesia.”
The passports of both Rio and Satria have been cancelled, Supratman said. If they sought to regain citizenship, they would be treated as foreign nationals and would have to apply from scratch.
Facing a shortage of local recruits as the war enters its fourth year, Russia has stepped up efforts to enlist foreigners.
More than 18,000 foreigners from 128 countries and territories have fought or are currently fighting for Russia in Ukraine, Dmitry Usov, a Ukrainian brigadier general who heads its prisoner of war headquarters, told CNN in November.
That does not include North Korean troops, estimated to range between 11,000 to 100,000 according to a Bloomberg report, which were sent to aid Russia in its invasion as part of a military cooperation agreement with Pyongyang.