Gibran Volunteer Speaks Out on Protracted Jokowi Diploma Case
The case of alleged defamation concerning the diplomas of Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), has been ongoing for more than a year, yet the case involving Roy Suryo and others has still not been brought to trial.
Chairman of the Militant Volunteers for Gibran Nusantara (MGN), Andi Azwan, denied that his party is deliberately slowing down the case process at the Metro Jaya Regional Police. According to Andi, the case has dragged on because the police have been accommodating various requests made by the suspects during the investigation.
“We understand that law enforcement officers have been acting with great caution,” he said. “Because of the new Criminal Procedure Code, all requests from the suspects have been accommodated. For example, a request for an independent forensic laboratory examination was accommodated.”
Unfortunately, several institutions requested to conduct independent examinations were unable to verify the authenticity of Jokowi’s diplomas. “Unfortunately, the independent forensic labs, such as the University of Indonesia, the Army Forensic Laboratory, and BRIN, did not have the facilities or capability to examine his diploma and the comparison diplomas from his university peers and graduation,” said Andi.
Furthermore, Andi stated that requests to present expert witnesses from the suspects’ side were also fulfilled by investigators. However, the process of submitting these witnesses was done in stages, which required a longer time. “But remember, they submitted these requests in instalments, not all at once. This is why the process has become lengthy, waiting for them to submit their witnesses. Just one witness can take two to three weeks,” he explained.
In addition to the suspects continuously proposing witnesses, Andi assessed that the case was prolonged due to a restorative justice request by Eggi Sudjana, Damai Hari Lubis, and Rismon Sianipar. This request required investigators to revise the investigation report. “Previously, it was all in one bundle. Because of the restorative justice request, it had to be opened one by one and removed from the investigation report, so an additional report had to be made. That also takes time,” he said, noting that Rismon’s process alone took two months to complete.
He argued that the narrative suggesting the lengthy handling of the case was deliberate does not reflect the actual situation. “So, if there is a narrative being spun that this 400-day process was intentional or planned, that is not the case,” he said. “The reality is that with the new Criminal Procedure Code, investigators must accommodate all requests from the suspects.”
On the same occasion, Andi also confirmed that the case file has been declared complete, or P21. He urged the public to wait for the transfer process of the file from the police to the prosecutor’s office. “P21 is definitely there. As stated by the Metro Jaya Police Director of General Crimes, Commissioner Iman Imanuddin, there are no more requests from the prosecutors,” he said.