BBC News
· collected 2026-09-21 · by Endang Nurdin, Rebecca Henschke
- Published
An Indonesian teacher convicted of sexually assaulting a student at an Islamic boarding school has been secretly released from prison early, a BBC Eye investigation has found.
asserted
investigation → publish → prison
Moch Subchi Azal Tsani or Bechi, as he is known, is the son of an influential Islamic religious leader.
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he → know → leader
His trial sent shockwaves through Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country where millions of parents send their children to Islamic boarding schools.
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millions → send → schools
He was arrested in 2022 at his father's school in East Java where he had taught, after a 15-hour siege involving nearly 1,000 riot police - his family's supporters had gathered in large numbers to prevent his arrest.
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supporters → arrest → arrest
He was sentenced to seven years in prison later that year.
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He → sentence → prison
The government withdrew the school's operating licence, but then President Joko Widodo intervened to keep the school open, arguing that the case involved an individual rather than the institution.
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case → withdraw → individual
But our investigation has uncovered further allegations against Bechi, 46, and evidence suggesting that the school and the family attempted to suppress them.
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school → uncover → them
Bechi's release comes as the National Commission on Violence against Women warns of an "emergency" of sexual violence in Islamic boarding schools.
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Commission → come → schools
It says the power of religious leaders is shielding these schools from oversight and repercussions, while discouraging students from reporting abuse.
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power → say → abuse
Of the several female students who alleged abuse and rape against Bechi, only one pursued a legal case that led to him being convicted.
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him → allege → case
Her identity has never been made public.
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identity → make → ?
Prosecutors sought the maximum sentence – 16 years – for rape, but the court found Bechi not guilty of rape, and convicted him for the lesser charge of sexual assault.
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Bechi → seek → assault
Undercover footage recorded by the BBC now reveals that he has been released after serving less than half his sentence.
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he → record → sentence
Bechi would have been eligible for parole around March 2027, or would have been released at the end of his sentence in 2029.
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Bechi → release → 2029
Indonesia's Ministry of Immigration and Corrections told the BBC that Bechi was released in August 2025 because of "sentence remissions granted to him in accordance with applicable regulations".
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Bechi → tell → regulations
The ministry said it could not say why his sentence was reduced.
uncertain
sentence → say → ?
Ira Puspitasari was another student who testified at the trial, but her allegations didn't lead to separate charges.
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allegations → testify → charges
She waived her legal right to anonymity to speak publicly about this for the first time.
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She → waive → time
"I was treated as his slave.
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I → treat → slave
I was held captive, raped, beaten," she says.
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she → hold → ?
"I can never forget what he said to me: 'Don't you realise you're just my slave?'"
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you → forget → me
After watching the undercover footage of Bechi smiling and greeting supporters at an event in March, she tears up and says: "It's like nothing ever happened."
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nothing → watch → March
Ira told the BBC she was raped and sexually abused by him for more than four years, from the time she was 15 years old.
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she → tell → time
She said she tried to run away but Bechi's private security guards tracked her down, kidnapped her and took her to a secluded hut, where Bechi tortured and raped her.
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Bechi → say → her
She said she was then expelled from the school.
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she → say → school
She said she reported all of this to the police but was then intimidated into withdrawing her police report.
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she → say → report
She shared an audio recording of Bechi's mother telling her to say that "nothing had happened".
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nothing → share → her
In January this year, after hearing that Bechi may have been released early, BBC undercover reporters attended an annual prayer event at the Shiddiqiyyah Islamic boarding school in East Java.
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reporters → hear → Java
The reporters saw Bechi wearing a mask and sitting beside his father.
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Bechi → see → father
Just before he appeared on stage, filming and photography was prohibited, a marked difference from previous years.
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filming → appear → years
Then in March, BBC reporters again captured Bechi on hidden camera at another prayer event for Eid at his family home located in the same compound as the school.
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reporters → capture → school
The BBC sought comment from Bechi, his mother and the Shiddiqiyyah school but there has been no response.
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BBC → seek → Bechi
The students who testified, including the girl he was convicted of sexually assaulting, were placed under witness protection and Indonesian law requires them to be informed of Bechi's release.
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law → testify → release
But they were not informed, Ira and another former student who testified told the BBC.
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who → inform → BBC
They were stunned by the undercover footage of Bechi because they believed he was still in prison.
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he → stun → prison
The ministry said that victims need not be informed because Bechi remains on parole, but the witness protection agency disputed this, saying the victims must still be informed.
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victims → say → this
Ayu Masuroh says she was never abused by Bechi but she started investigating the allegations of abuse against him after hearing about them from schoolmates.
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she → say → schoolmates
She lives close to the school and says she is frightened about Bechi being out of prison.
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Bechi → live → prison
"He hates me.
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He → hat → me
His supporters have threatened to kill me many times.
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supporters → threaten → me
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
