The government has assured Indonesia that Palestinian national Abdul Karim Raed Miqdad will not be handed over to Israel, Indonesia’s immigration minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Tuesday.

According to news outlet Voice of Indonesia, Yusril made the statement after the Cypriot ambassador to Indonesia, Nikos Panayiotou, was summoned following public concern over Miqdad’s transfer from Indonesia to Cyprus last Friday.

“I am asking the Cypriot government to commit to not doing so. He has given a pledge that they do not intend to hand the person in question over to Israel,” Yusril said at the presidential palace complex in Jakarta.

Miqdad was transferred to Cyprus following an Interpol red notice issued through the Republic, with communications between Cypriot and Indonesian police reportedly ongoing since May 21.

Yusril said countries acting on Interpol requests were bound by Interpol rules and that an individual transferred under such procedures could not be sent to a third country.

He also rejected reports describing Miqdad as a Palestinian scientist and humanitarian activist in Gaza, insisting he was “but an ordinary man” aged 41.

According to Yusril, Miqdad had lived in Indonesia for three years, while Indonesian authorities had not identified any humanitarian activities he had carried out in Gaza during that period.

He said Indonesia proceeded with the transfer because it does not have an extradition treaty with Cyprus and the case was being handled under the Interpol process.

Yusril did not disclose details of the alleged offences, saying prosecution matters fell under the authority of Cypriot authorities.

However, he said the case concerned suspected transnational organised crime.

“This is an individual case of suspected crimes committed in another country. It has no relation whatsoever to supporting or not supporting Palestinian independence,” he said.

The transfer has drawn attention after the Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties, a non-governmental organisation, urged Cyprus not to extradite Miqdad without a full judicial review.

The organisation said Miqdad was arrested in Indonesia on an Interpol notice issued through Cyprus before being transferred the following day. It said documents it had reviewed did not provide details of the allegations, supporting evidence or a clear description of the suspected offences.

The group said an Interpol red notice “does not exempt states from their obligations under international human rights law” and expressed concern that the transfer could precede an extradition request from Israel.

The transfer comes as police continue investigating an ongoing terrorism case in Larnaca involving allegations of planned attacks against Israeli interests in Cyprus.

Four suspects have been arrested in the case, with investigations remaining ongoing.