A former teacher who sexually assaulted a student has been returned to jail in Indonesia after a BBC investigation revealed he was secretly released early.

Mochamad Subchi Azal Tsani, known as Bechi, was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2022 after being convicted of sexually assaulting a female student at his father's prominent Islamic boarding school in East Java, where he worked as a teacher.

A BBC Eye undercover investigation revealed he was secretly released on parole in August 2025, after serving less than half his sentence. The woman he had been convicted of assaulting had not been informed – despite her legal right to know.

On hearing he was back in prison, she cried with relief.

"I pray that this doesn't happen to anyone else and that, going forward, the law will be applied justly in Indonesia," the former student, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC.

The Ministry of Immigration and Corrections previously told the BBC that Bechi was released because of sentence reductions granted in accordance with regulations.

But the BBC investigation sparked a public outcry and led to calls from lawmakers for an investigation, after which the government announced a comprehensive review.

That review found "errors" resulting in Bechi's parole being revoked. He has now been returned to prison.

Immigration and Corrections Minister Agus Andrianto told the BBC that those responsible for approving Bechi's parole "will certainly face sanctions".

"We want to make sure that such mistakes or irregularities do not happen again," he said.

For Ira Puspitasari, one of several former students who accused Bechi of sexual abuse and testified at his trial, the decision is a vindication.

"I'm amazed, really. I didn't expect the government would pay such detailed attention to this case and really pay attention to us, the victims," she said.

Ira, who has waived her legal right to anonymity, told the BBC she was raped and sexually abused by Bechi for more than four years, from the age of 15.

"I was treated as his slave. I was held captive, raped, beaten," she said.

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.

She said she reported all of this to the police but was then intimidated into withdrawing her complaint. She also shared an audio recording of Bechi's mother telling her to say that "nothing had happened".

Outside the UK, you can watch Catching My Teacher on YouTube, external.

Watching BBC undercover footage of Bechi smiling and greeting supporters at an event in March, when he should still have been in prison, Ira became tearful.

"It's like nothing ever happened," she said.

Ira was invited to a parliamentary hearing this week into the state's handling of sexual abuse cases in religious and educational institutions, held in response to the BBC's investigation.

Lawyer Joko Jumadi, who has represented several victims of abuse in educational institutions, also addressed the hearing and said authorities were often reluctant to investigate allegations of abuse because they involved "influential religious figures who have large followings".

He told the hearing that he regularly faced threats and intimidation as a result of taking on such cases.

Bechi is the son of prominent Islamic cleric Muhammad Mukhtar Mu'thi, founder of the Shiddiqiyyah Islamic boarding school in Jombang, East Java.

He was arrested in 2022 after a 15-hour police siege at the school, where supporters had gathered to prevent his arrest.

Prosecutors had sought a longer sentence after Bechi was accused of rape by a number of students, but he was acquitted of the rape charges and convicted of the lesser sexual assault offence of one student.

The BBC sought comment from Bechi, his mother and the Shiddiqiyyah boarding school as part of its investigation but received no response.