Police in Indonesia have named a former headmaster of an Islamic boarding school as a suspect in a sexual abuse investigation and have detained him, following an investigative report into the institution. The man, Ahmad Imanuddin Sumar, was known to students as Abah and led the Abul Barokat boarding school on the island of Lombok.
Police reopened the case after the report revealed accusations of sexual abuse against him. It also documented how former students had gathered evidence in an effort to take the allegations to the authorities. The story prompted public outrage, and 12 more former students gave testimony to police.
How former students built their case
Central to the investigation were former students Ziadatur Rahmah, known as Zia, and Sukma Rohana Fajar. Zia told a former classmate, Yusron Azzahidi, that the headteacher had sexually assaulted her when she was 17. The pair had been star pupils at the school, but by the time Zia confided in Yusron, she was studying in Cairo, Egypt, while he was in Jakarta.
Yusron suggested they collect evidence to support Zia’s allegation. While speaking to former classmates, they were also approached by Sukma, who alleges that Abah attempted to rape her at the school. Yusron compiled a seven-page document detailing the claims and gave it to representatives of Nahdlatul Wathan Diniyah Islamiyah (NWDI), the organisation that ran the school.
The students had expected the school to back them. Instead, they say they were pressured to withdraw their accusations.
Recordings capture apology and pleas for silence
In a secretly recorded phone call, Abah pleaded with Yusron to protect him and his reputation. “Cover the shame of your teacher. Everyone makes mistakes, my child,” Abah said. Zia also secretly recorded a conversation with Abah, in which he is heard apologising while urging her to stay silent.
Sukma said she had been forced to sign a document stating that her allegations were lies. She later recorded a conversation with Abah’s wife, known to students as Umi, who told her the document was intended to protect “her good name.”
After the report was published, Abah held a news conference where he denied all the allegations. He did not deny that the voice in the recorded calls was his, but said the recordings were not confessions. Reporters had contacted Abah and his wife during their original reporting, but neither responded at the time.
Parents withdraw children as police interview victims
The day after the report was published, parents arrived at the school to collect their children, some travelling from other islands. One mother said she had started crying when she heard the news, thinking about her daughter. “I’m moving her right now,” she said. “I absolutely want my child to leave this school.”
Yusron said he and Zia, who recently got married, were overwhelmed by the response. “It was beyond what we expected,” he said, adding that many former students had contacted them directly, saying they were victims too.
Police interviewed Zia, Sukma and the 12 other former students who came forward. Zia said many of them had believed they were the only ones affected. Sukma said she felt relieved that the allegations were now being taken seriously. “It’s not about revenge. It’s more the acknowledgement that what he did was wrong,” she said.
Abah has resigned from the school and said he will respect the legal process. Lawyer Joko Jumadi, who has experience in similar cases, is supporting the former students as they resume their pursuit of justice. NWDI denied trying to cover up the allegations and said it was investigating them internally. It added that it had a duty to protect the organisation from being tarnished by the alleged actions of individuals, and vowed to ensure such abuse never happens again.
