Jakarta. The attorney for Indonesian actor Ammar Zoni has denounced the government’s decision to transfer his client to the maximum-security Nusakambangan Prison in Central Java, calling the move excessive and carried out without prior notice.

Lawyer Jon Mathias said he and Ammar’s family were never informed of the relocation and only learned about it from media reports. “No one contacted us. We found out from the news. Until now, there has been no official letter from the authorities or the government,” Mathias told reporters on Thursday.

He said he had visited Ammar a day earlier at Cipinang Prison in Jakarta, where the actor showed no indication of an imminent transfer. “We were there from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and everything seemed normal. Ammar even handed us a handwritten letter, with no mention that he would be moved,” he said.

Mathias described Ammar’s treatment during the transfer as “inhumane,” claiming the 33-year-old actor was shackled, handcuffed, and blindfolded. “It’s heartbreaking. Ammar was treated as if he were a terrorist. He hasn’t even been convicted in his latest case,” Mathias said, adding that such actions violate human rights principles.

He said the legal team would bring the case to the House of Representatives (DPR) and even to President Prabowo Subianto in pursuit of justice. “Ammar is an Indonesian citizen and deserves fair treatment. We will ask the president to review whether this move was appropriate,” he said.

Religious mentor Ustaz Derry Sulaiman, who has guided Ammar spiritually, also criticized the transfer, saying it was too harsh for someone charged with drug use. “Nusakambangan is for major traffickers and death-row inmates. Ammar is not a dealer, he’s not violent. Sending him there won’t help his recovery,” he said.

The Directorate General of Corrections confirmed that Ammar was moved on Thursday morning along with five other high-risk inmates from Jakarta to Karanganyar Class IIA Prison on Nusakambangan Island, a high-security complex off the coast of Cilacap, Central Java.

He arrived around 7:43 a.m. local time and was immediately placed in a one-man cell, according to prison warden Riko Purnama Candra.

Corrections spokesperson Rika Aprianti said the transfer was part of a broader effort to maintain security and prevent drug circulation within prisons. “This relocation policy is designed to keep correctional facilities free from narcotics networks and security threats,” she said. “It also provides inmates with space to reform and prepare for reintegration into society.”

Ammar Zoni, best known for his roles in television dramas, has a long history of drug-related offenses, with four separate convictions since 2017, including a four-year prison sentence in 2023 for repeated drug use. Authorities said his latest transfer followed allegations that he was still linked to a drug distribution network operating from inside prison, though his legal team has denied the claim.

Under Law and Human Rights Minister Agus Andrianto, Indonesia has stepped up efforts to isolate high-risk inmates, relocating more than 1,500 prisoners to Nusakambangan over the past year.

Often dubbed “Indonesia’s Alcatraz,” Nusakambangan houses some of the country’s most dangerous criminals, including terrorism convicts, major drug traffickers, and death-row inmates. Its isolation and tight controls make it the centerpiece of Indonesia’s campaign to break criminal networks within the prison system.

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