National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) head Ansyaad Mbai said on Thursday that Indonesians who supported and joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) could lose their citizenship.

Ansyaad was speaking in response to a video circulating on the Internet depicting what appeared to be Indonesian nationals encouraging others to join the ISIS, also referred to as the ISIL.

"Article 23(f) of the 2006 Indonesian Citizenship Law stipulates that an Indonesian national could lose their citizenship if they voluntarily swear an oath to a foreign nation, or part of a foreign nation. ISIL is part of a foreign nation," he said in Jakarta as quoted by kompas.com.

Furthermore, ISIS supporters could also be charged under the Criminal Code. However, Ansyaaf acknowledged that the agency was still exploring the possibility.

The BNPT estimates that at least 30 Indonesians are involved in the jihadist movement in Iraq under ISIS and in Syria under Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), a prominent Salafi jihadist organization with links to al-Qaeda.

In order to discourage more people from supporting the groups, Ansyaad said, the Terrorism Law must be strengthened by criminalizing seeds of terrorism, such as the sowing of hate against national values like Pancasila and the concept of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Separately, the National Police said on Friday that they were working with relevant ministries to investigate the validity of the video. However, spokesperson Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto warned the public not to be easily duped by such videos because they could be made by anyone as reported by tribunnews.com.

Furthermore, he said that the law guaranteed freedom of assembly provided that prevailing regulations were obeyed. (fss)