Aide Says Jokowi’s Expression Changed When Shown Roy Suryo’s Posts
AKBP Syarif Muhammad Fitriansyah, an aide to Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), said Jokowi’s expression changed when he was shown videos or posts by Roy Suryo alleging that Jokowi’s bachelor’s degree was fake.
Syarif gave the testimony on Thursday (5 November) at the East Jakarta District Court, where Roy is standing trial in a case related to the allegations.
During the hearing, prosecutors asked Syarif whether Jokowi had ever confided in him about his concerns over the accusations.
“Regarding your relationship with Mr Jokowi as his aide, did he ever confide in you about his grievances over the allegations that his degree was fake? Did he share his concerns? Or what did you observe about Mr Jokowi in relation to these allegations?” a prosecutor asked.
Syarif said Jokowi had shown considerable patience with the allegations, including while he was still president.
He said that when he showed Jokowi videos or posts about the allegations, he saw Jokowi’s expression change as he appeared to hold back his anger. After doing so repeatedly, Jokowi eventually filed a police report, Syarif said.
“To the best of our knowledge, Your Honour, we know that he has been very patient. When we showed him videos or posts related to the allegations, we saw his expression change as if he were holding back his anger. In our view, by the time he went to the Metro Jaya Police and filed a report, he had held back many times,” Syarif said.
Syarif said Jokowi wanted to provide certainty by reporting the matter to the police.
“He intended to file a report, we explained, to provide certainty, particularly so that the same thing would not happen to other people,” Syarif said.
In this case, Roy Suryo is charged with defamation and offences related to electronic information over allegations that the university degree of Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo, was fake.
Prosecutors charged Roy under Article 433(1) in conjunction with Article 441(1) of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code.
As an alternative charge, Roy is accused of violating Article 35 in conjunction with Article 51(1) of Law No. 11 of 2008 on Electronic Information and Transactions, as amended by Law No. 1 of 2026 on Criminal Penalty Adjustments.
Prosecutors also charged Roy under Article 32 in conjunction with Article 48(1) of Law No. 11 of 2008 on Electronic Information and Transactions, as amended by Law No. 1 of 2026 on Criminal Penalty Adjustments.