Citizen Lawsuit Hearing on Roy Suryo Case Sees Intervention by Third Party as Defendant
JAKARTA — The hearing for a citizen lawsuit against the Directorate of General Criminal Investigation of Metro Jaya Police at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday (13/4/2026) was marked by the presence of a third party as a prospective intervening defendant.
The plaintiffs’ legal representatives questioned this presence, deeming its interest in the case unclear.
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Yasena, admitted confusion over the emergence of the prospective intervening defendant. Nevertheless, he stated that the third party’s presence remains a legitimate right in the trial process.
On that basis, the plaintiffs submitted a statement of objection to the South Jakarta District Court. Moreover, during Monday’s hearing, the prospective intervening defendant only produced a power of attorney at that point, necessitating a postponement of the session.
The citizen lawsuit originates from the handling of the case alleging a fake diploma held by Indonesia’s 7th President Joko Widodo, which dragged in Roy Suryo.
The plaintiffs view irregularities in the case handling process by investigators from the Metro Jaya Police’s Ditreskrimum.
“Why hasn’t anyone fixed it? Now, why is someone trying to intervene and help?” said Yasena.
Roy Suryo, who was present at the hearing, stated that the prospective intervening defendant is Pitra Romadoni Nasution, a legal practitioner.
He mentioned that Pitra had previously been his lawyer in a blasphemy case related to a meme upload featuring a stupa with Joko Widodo’s face in 2022. Roy claimed he was unaware beforehand of the third party’s involvement in the hearing.
Meanwhile, Pitra has not yet disclosed the reasons for offering himself as a prospective intervening defendant. He stated he would provide further explanation at the next hearing agenda.
“On Friday, I’ll comment because the hearing is on Friday, God willing, I’ll come,” said Pitra.
Previously, nine retired TNI generals, united under the TNI Retired Forum, filed the citizen lawsuit against Metro Jaya Police at the South Jakarta District Court.
The lawsuit is registered under case number 329/Pdt.G/2026/PN.JKT.SEL, with a total of 17 citizens as plaintiffs. The retired TNI generals serving as plaintiffs include:
This lawsuit relates to the handling of the alleged fake diploma case of President Joko Widodo. Retired Major General TNI Soenarko suspects unprofessionalism by law enforcement officials, including alleged smuggling of articles and abuse of authority in managing the case.
“If this is left unchecked and not opened, officials could act arbitrarily next. We citizens could be finished off by these unprofessional state apparatus,” Soenarko said in a press statement in Jakarta on Sunday (29/3/2026).
The lawsuit also urges improvements to the police’s investigation mechanisms for cases, including preventing the smuggling of articles in cases reported by citizens.