Latest news with #JudhaNugraha
Gulf Insider
21-03-2025
- Gulf Insider
Six Indonesian Pilgrims Killed In Bus Crash In Saudi Arabia
Six Indonesian citizens were killed and 14 others injured in a tragic bus accident during an Umrah pilgrimage on the highway between Medina and Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Friday. The accident occurred on Thursday, March 20, in Wadi Al Aqeeq, approximately 150 km north of Jeddah, according to Judha Nugraha, Director for the Protection of Indonesian Citizens and Legal Entities (PWNI & BHI) at the ministry. The Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah (KJRI) received the report at 1:30 p.m. local time. 'The total number of Indonesian nationals involved in the accident is 20, with six fatalities and the remainder sustaining injuries,' Nugraha said in a statement. Preliminary reports indicate the bus overturned and caught fire after a collision, though further investigation is ongoing. The vehicle was carrying Umrah pilgrims and their entourage at the time of the incident. In response, the Indonesian Consulate General immediately dispatched a citizen protection team to the site and coordinated with Saudi authorities and other relevant parties to identify the victims and facilitate necessary assistance. Officials have reached out to local hospitals, Umrah tour guides, the Ministry of Hajj, Umrah service staff, and the bus company to verify the condition of the victims and offer support. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also coordinating with Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Umrah travel agency involved to obtain comprehensive data on the victims and contact their families. 'We have notified the families of the victims in Indonesia and will continue to assist those injured in Saudi Arabia throughout their recovery,' Nugraha added.
South China Morning Post
18-03-2025
- South China Morning Post
Indonesia to bring home hundreds more scam trafficking victims from Myanmar
More than 500 Indonesians freed from online scam centres in Myanmar will be repatriated via Thailand in the coming days, a senior Indonesian official said on Tuesday. Advertisement Cyberscam operations, which have thrived in Myanmar 's lawless border areas for several years, lure foreign workers with promises of high-paying jobs but hold them hostage and force them to commit online fraud. Around 7,000 workers from at least two dozen countries have been freed in recent weeks, the majority of them Chinese, but many have been languishing in squalid temporary holding camps on the border between Myanmar and Thailand Four hundred Indonesian nationals will return home on Tuesday and 'around 161' are to come back on Wednesday, said Judha Nugraha, the director of citizen protection at Indonesia's foreign ministry. Shwe Kokko, a infamous Myanmar scam complex, seen from Thailand's side of the border. Photo: Reuters They would come back on three flights from Bangkok after crossing into Thailand from Myanmar, he said.
South China Morning Post
01-03-2025
- South China Morning Post
84 Indonesians trafficked to Myanmar scam centres return home
Eighty-four Indonesians returned home overnight on two flights from Thailand, Indonesian officials said on Saturday, the latest group of alleged scam workers to be repatriated from the region. Advertisement Cyberscam operations, which have thrived in Myanmar's lawless border areas for several years, lure foreign workers with promises of high-paying jobs but hold them hostage and force them into committing online fraud. Under pressure from key ally Beijing, Myanmar has cracked down on some of the compounds, freeing around 7,000 workers from more than two dozen countries. The 69 Indonesian men and 15 women landed in capital Jakarta after negotiations between Indonesian officials and their Thai and Myanmar counterparts, Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affair's citizen protection director Judha Nugraha said on Saturday. 'They will be brought to the Social Affairs Ministry's safe house and trauma centre. They will undergo a rehabilitation process,' he said. 03:32 'We're not scammers': China, Thailand join forces to free thousands from Myanmar scam hubs 'We're not scammers': China, Thailand join forces to free thousands from Myanmar scam hubs Ministry spokesperson Rolliansyah Soemirat also confirmed their return.
Arab News
01-03-2025
- Arab News
84 Indonesian workers from Myanmar scam centers return home
JAKARTA: Eighty-four Indonesians returned home overnight on two flights from Thailand, Indonesian officials said Saturday, the latest group of alleged scam workers to be repatriated from the region. Cyberscam operations, which have thrived in Myanmar's lawless border areas for several years, lure foreign workers with promises of high-paying jobs but hold them hostage and force them into committing online fraud. Under pressure from key ally Beijing, Myanmar has cracked down on some of the compounds, freeing around 7,000 workers from more than two dozen countries. The 69 Indonesian men and 15 women landed in capital Jakarta after negotiations between Indonesian officials and their Thai and Myanmar counterparts, Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affair's citizen protection director Judha Nugraha told AFP Saturday. 'They will be brought to the Social Affairs Ministry's safehouse and trauma center. They will undergo a rehabilitation process,' he said. Ministry spokesperson Rolliansyah Soemirat also confirmed their return. The group, which included three pregnant women, were in 'good condition and healthy' after their evacuation from Myanmar, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. They arrived in Jakarta on two AirAsia flights — one late Friday and one early Saturday. The ministry said it had repatriated an early group of 46 Indonesians in February, bringing the total repatriated since last month to 140. Thousands of Indonesians have been enticed abroad in recent years to other Southeast Asian countries for better-paying jobs, only to end up in the hands of transnational scam operators. Between 2020 and September last year, Jakarta repatriated more than 4,700 Indonesians entangled in online scam operations from countries including Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, according to foreign ministry data.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Yahoo
84 Indonesians freed from scam centers in Myanmar arrive home
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Eighty-four Indonesians freed from scam centers in Myanmar arrived in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, late Friday, part of a massive repatriation movement that is straining regional resources. They were among more than 7,000 people being held in the Myanmar border town Myawaddy following a crackdown on the scam centers by Thailand, Myanmar and China. Two buses carrying the Indonesians arrived Thursday in the Thai border city of Mae Sot, where the passengers had health checks, and their identities were verified. The 84 Indonesians, which included 69 men and 15 women, were brought home on three commercial flights Friday. The first flight, carrying 38 evacuees, arrived at 8:05 p.m. local time. The evacuees, many wearing dark hoodies, red scarves, and face masks, declined to comment to the media following a briefing by Indonesian authorities. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. They were escorted through a crush of reporters outside an arrival terminal at Soekarno-Hatta international airport into a waiting bus. 'They were healthy,' said Judha Nugraha, the foreign affairs ministry's director for citizen Protection, who, along with Indonesian diplomats in Yangon and Bangkok had been in Mae Sot since Feb. 23 to coordinate with various parties in Thailand and Myanmar. 'This is a long repatriation process carried out by the Indonesian government in collaboration with authorities in Thailand and Myanmar,' Nugraha told reporters at the airport. He added that the government continues to communicate with Thai and Myanmar authorities to facilitate the return of more than 360 Indonesians who were stranded in Myanmar after leaving the scam centers. It was not immediately clear why only 84 were being repatriated. Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been lured to work in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, where they are forced to perpetrate global scams involving false romances, fraudulent investments, and illegal gambling. Many of the workers were recruited under false pretenses, only to find themselves trapped in virtual slavery. Indonesia's foreign affairs ministry said that approximately 6,800 Indonesians have fallen victim to illegal job scams in Myanmar and several other countries over the past few years. The crackdown on the scam centers followed a meeting in Beijing in early February between Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Chinese leader Xi Jinping where she said Thailand would crack down on the scam networks. Thailand has cut off electricity, internet and gas supplies to several areas in Myanmar hosting scam centers along the border. More than 600 Chinese nationals were repatriated last week. Earlier, some 260 people from 20 countries, including Ethiopia, Brazil and the Philippines, crossed from Myanmar into Thai custody. Many have returned home but more than 100 remain in Thailand awaiting repatriation, Thai officials said. 'This case is a valuable lesson for people to be careful in looking for work abroad,' Nugraha said, 'We call on all Indonesian citizens to find jobs overseas in the right way, legally and according to existing procedures, for the sake of their safety in obtaining the welfare as expected. ___ Associated Press writer Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok, contributed to this report.
