TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Judha Nugara, the director of Indonesian Citizen Protection at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed that the young diplomat, Arya Daru Pangayunan, who was found dead in his rented room, was not involved in the handling of the Cambodian human trafficking case. However, according to Judha, he previously handled the resolved human trafficking case in Japan.
"He was once a witness for a human trafficking case in Japan, but that was a long time ago, and the case has been resolved," said Judha while visiting Arya Daru's family home in Janti, Bantul, Yogyakarta, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
Arya Daru Pangayunan was found dead in his rented room at Guest House Gondia, Menteng, Jakarta, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. The young diplomat was discovered with his head wrapped in tape and his body covered by a blanket on the bed.
Judha said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not wish to speculate about the cause of Arya Daru's death. "Let's not link the case with his death, let's wait for the results of the police investigation and refrain from speculating," he said.
Judha explained that Daru joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat in 2014. Since then, he had been assigned various tasks, starting with his first assignment at the Indonesian Embassy in Dili, then continuing to the Indonesian Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Arya Daru then joined the Citizen Protection Directorate in 2022, tasked with the protection of Indonesian citizens living overseas.
"We saw for ourselves how Mas Daru brought back destitute children in Taiwan to Indonesia. Mas Daru also participated in evacuating Indonesian citizens during the recent earthquake in Turkey," he said, adding that the ministry official also assisted in evacuating Indonesian citizens from Iran.
Arya Daru was frequently tasked with providing protection for Indonesian citizens in regions outside Southeast Asia, including the Middle East. This duty, Judha said, included repatriation and evacuation.
Judha expressed his condolences for Arya Daru's passing. According to him, he was "a humble, cheerful person, fond of helping, and very close to everyone, both his seniors and juniors."
Before his passing, Judha said, the ministry was preparing a farewell event for Arya Daru, who was scheduled to depart for his duty in the Indonesian Embassy in Helsinki at the end of July.
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