Power Outage Causes Delay in Roy Suryo Defamation Trial
The continuation of the trial for defendant Kanjeng Raden Mas Tumenggung Roy Suryo Notodiprojo, also known as Roy Suryo, was briefly interrupted when the courtroom suddenly plunged into darkness due to a power outage.
The agenda for today’s session involved the public prosecutor’s response to the legal challenges raised by Roy Suryo’s defence team. Roy Suryo stands accused of defamation and libel against the 7th President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokeway).
“In accordance with the adjournment of the trial last week, today the Public Prosecutor’s opinion regarding the challenges from the defendant’s legal team is ready,” stated the presiding judge at the East Jakarta District Court on Monday (5/10).
As the prosecutor began reading the response to the legal challenges filed by Roy Suryo’s counsel, the courtroom went dark and the speakers ceased functioning due to the power failure. The judge briefly suspended the proceedings before requesting the prosecutor to continue reading the response despite the darkness and lack of audio amplification.
After several minutes, the lights returned, allowing the prosecutor to proceed. During the reading, the Public Prosecutor (JPU) requested that the judge reject the defence’s motion, which argued ‘error in objecto’ and referenced previous pretrial rulings.
“The arguments presented by the defendant’s legal team do not constitute valid grounds for challenge as regulated under Article 206, paragraph 1 of Law Number 20 of 2025 regarding the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), as these arguments pertain to pretrial matters that are no longer relevant to the current trial,” the prosecutor stated.
Roy Suryo is charged with defamation and libel against Joko Widodo, specifically regarding the dissemination of false information concerning Jokowi’s university degree. The prosecution alleges the case began on 26 March 2025, when Jokowi was presented with two YouTube videos and one post on the social media platform X that were deemed an attack on his honour.
“The three social media posts, consisting of two YouTube videos and one post on X, attacked the honour and reputation of witness Ir H Joko Widodo, primarily accusing him of possessing a forged Bachelor’s degree,” the prosecutor stated during the indictment reading.
Specifically, the posts included content from the YouTube account @EggiSudimentraChannel titled ‘Consistent TPUA Disclosure of Fake Diploma’ and the X account @DokterTifa titled ‘ERA AI: All Fake Diplomas Will Be Revealed in Seconds’.
Following these posts, Jokowi contacted his legal team, who subsequently held a press conference to refute the allegations. Gadjah Mada University (UGM) also held a press conference, confirming that Jokowi is a registered alumnus of UGM and has officially graduated.
The prosecution argues that Roy’s actions caused non-material losses to Jokowi by tarnishing his reputation. The prosecutor noted that others had joined in the accusations, claiming Jokowi used a forged degree to qualify for previous public offices, including Mayor of Solo, Governor of Jakarta, and President.
The prosecution further stated that the Bachelor’s degree analysed by Roy using Error Level Analysis (ELA) did not originate from the legitimate owner, Jokowi. The prosecutor asserted that Roy failed to verify or seek permission from Jokowi before disseminating the documents.
“Furthermore, there was no effort by the defendant to verify, confirm, or request permission from Ir H Joko Widodo as the legitimate owner of the document, meaning the Electronic Information and/or Electronic Documents used as the basis for the defendant’s analysis were obtained unlawfully,” the prosecutor added.
As a result of his actions, Roy faces charges under Article 433, paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 441, paragraph (1) of Law Number 1 of 2023 regarding the Criminal Code, subsidised by Article 35 in conjunction with Article 51, paragraph (1) of the ITE Law (Electronic Information and Transactions Law) and related amendments.