A former headmaster of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia has been named as a suspect in a sexual abuse investigation and detained by police, following a BBC Eye report. Ahmad Imanuddin Sumar, known to students as Abah, led the Abul Barokat boarding school on the island of Lombok. Police reopened the case after the BBC World Service revealed accusations of sexual abuse against him, and documented how former students had gathered evidence in an effort to bring the allegations to the authorities.
The story sparked public outrage and led to 12 more former students giving testimony to police. Warning: This story contains details of sexual assault Two ex-students expose sexual abuse by teachers at Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia Outside the UK, you can watch Catching My Teacher on YouTube, external. Central to the BBC Eye investigation were former students Ziadatur Rahmah, known as Zia, and Sukma Rohana Fajar.
They launched their own investigation after 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. By the time Zia confided in Yusron, she was studying in Cairo, Egypt, while he was in Jakarta.
Yusron suggested they gather evidence to support Zia's allegation. Speaking to former classmates, they spoke to Sukma, who alleges that Abah attempted to rape her at the school. Yusron compiled a seven-page document detailing the allegations, and they gave it to representatives of Nahdlatul Wathan Diniyah Islamiyah (NWDI), the organisation that ran the school.
Thinking the school would support them, the students say that instead, they were pressured to withdraw their accusations. 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. Abah also contacted Zia, who secretly recorded their conversation and shared it with the BBC. In the recording, Abah is heard apologising, but pleads with her to remain silent.
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