The Jakarta Police have named Rizieq Shihab, the firebrand cleric and leader of hard-line Muslim organization Islam Defenders Front (FPI), a suspect in a pornography case.

Rizieq was named a suspect on Monday without having undergone police questioning in his previous capacity as a witness as he had failed to answer a police summons in April and May.

“At 12 a.m. today [Monday], investigators at the Jakarta Police’s special crimes unit increased Rizieq’s status from witness to suspect,” said Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono. “We have sent his dossier to the Jakarta Prosecutors’ Office.”

Argo Yuwono said investigators from the Jakarta Police special crimes unit had gathered adequate evidence to increase Rizieq’s status to that of suspect.

“He will be charged under articles 4, 6 and 8 of the 2008 Pornography Law,” he said.

The case first surfaced late January when a now-blocked website, baladacintarizieq.com, uploaded screenshots of WhatsApp chats that allegedly took place between Rizieq and Firza Husein. The chats are filled with profanity and nude pictures allegedly of Firza, who preceded Rizieq to be named a suspect in the same case on May 16.

The police sent a first summons to Rizieq on April 25 along with Firza, Rizieq’s wife and a friend of Firza’s, whose name is mentioned in the steamy chats. However, none of them showed up for various reasons. Rizieq also evaded the second questioning session on May 10 as he was abroad and his exact location was unknown even to his lawyer, Sugito Atmo Pawiro.

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