Judge Declares Dr Tifa's Pretrial Motion Null and Void

The South Jakarta District Court has ruled that the pretrial motion filed by Tifauzia Tyassuma, also known as Dr Tifa, cannot be accepted. The judge declared the pretrial motion null and void by law.

“Declares the Petitioner’s Pretrial Motion null and void by law, or at the very least declares the Petitioner’s Pretrial Motion inadmissible,” said South Jakarta District Court pretrial judge Sulistyo Muhammad during the hearing held at the South Jakarta District Court on Friday (21/8/2026).

The judge stated that Tifa should have filed an objection against the re-submission of the indictment in the alleged defamation case concerning the academic credentials of Indonesia’s 7th President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). It is known that the East Jakarta District Court initially granted the objection filed by Tifa. However, prosecutors subsequently re-submitted the indictment against Tifa.

“Considering that if the Petitioner feels aggrieved by the Respondent’s action of re-transferring or re-submitting the indictment to the East Jakarta District Court, then for the sake of legal certainty, the arguments that have been presented during the Pretrial hearing should be submitted as an objection during the examination of the main case as regulated in Article 75 paragraph (5) of Law Number 20 of 2025 concerning the Criminal Procedure Code, rather than filing a Pretrial Motion,” the judge stated.

The judge considered that once the case file has been transferred to the District Court, Tifa’s status is that of a defendant. Therefore, the judge said, Tifa no longer has the legal standing to file a Pretrial Motion, and her right to do so has been extinguished.

“Considering that therefore, regarding the Respondent’s exception that the Petitioner’s Pretrial Motion is null and void by law and Error in Jurisdiction has legal grounds to be granted, the Judge need not consider the Respondent’s further exceptions,” he said.