Jokowi's Lawyer Responds After Judge Accepts Dr Tifa's Exception

The attorney for Indonesia’s 7th President Joko Widodo, Rivai Kusumaneraga, has responded to an interlocutory ruling by the East Jakarta District Court which granted the exception plea submitted by defendant Tifauziah Tyassuma, also known as Dr Tifa. Rivai stated that he respects the interlocutory decision as it serves as a form of correction or check and balance within the ongoing legal process. He explained that the ruling only corrects the public prosecutor’s indictment, rather than nullifying the criminal case entirely. “With a ruling like this, the prosecutor will usually later amend the construction of the articles, adjusting it to the mandate in the decision, and then the prosecutor can resubmit the indictment to the court,” Rivai said at the East Jakarta District Court on Thursday (23/7). He added that the matter is more of a correction to an indictment that was considered ‘obscuur libel’ (unclear) and is not related to the termination of the case. The case can still proceed, and the prosecutor simply needs to amend the indictment. On this occasion, Rivai stated that his client, Jokowi, is ready to attend the trial proceedings. “We are here also to follow the schedule that will be set by the panel of judges for Mr Jokowi’s examination. Actually, Mr Jokowi was already prepared to attend next week, he had already set aside the time,” Rivai said. “But it turns out this interlocutory ruling states that the indictment needs to be amended first, and we respect that, so we will wait for Mr Jokowi’s presence at the next trial.” The panel of judges at the East Jakarta District Court granted the exception plea submitted by Dr Tifa, who is a defendant in a case regarding false allegations about the former president’s university diploma. “The court rules: the objection from the defendant’s team of advocates is accepted,” said Chief Judge Christina Endarwati while reading the interlocutory decision. The judge declared that the public prosecutor’s indictment in case number 301/Pid.Sus/2026/PN Jkt.Tim was imprecise and unclear, rendering it null and void by law. Consequently, the examination of the case cannot proceed to the evidentiary stage.