Prosecutors Urge Judge to Reject Dr Tifa's Exception Plea, Push for Trial to Proceed to Evidence Stage

Public prosecutors have requested the panel of judges at the East Jakarta District Court to reject the preliminary objection filed by defendant Tifauzia Tyassuma, known as Dr Tifa. The prosecution argued that the indictment had been carefully prepared and that the East Jakarta District Court has the authority to hear the case. “Reject all objections from the defendant and the defendant Dr Tifauzia Tyassuma’s team of legal counsel in their entirety,” the prosecutor stated during the hearing on Thursday (16/7/2026). Regarding the court’s jurisdiction, the prosecutor asserted that the East Jakarta District Court has absolute and relative authority to examine the case. This is based on the Decree of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia Number: 114/KMA/SK.HK2.2/VI/2026, which relies on the mandate of Article 166 of Law Number 20 of 2025 concerning the New Criminal Procedure Code. The prosecution deemed the legal team’s argument regarding the violation of the principle of speciality as a conceptual fallacy. “The argument of violating the principle of speciality and delegatus non potest delegare is a conceptual fallacy because the Supreme Court is using its original authority under the law for the sake of judicial efficiency,” the prosecutor said. The prosecutor also addressed the argument concerning the state’s loss of right to prosecute due to the withdrawal of reports against other reported individuals, such as Eggi Sudjana and others, through restorative justice. The prosecutor noted that the articles charged against Dr Tifa are predominantly ordinary offences, not complaint-based offences. “The indictment uses a combination structure dominated by ordinary offences, namely Article 32 and Article 35 of the ITE Law, as well as Article 126 of Law Number 1 of 2023, so the principle of indivisibility of complaints is legally paralysed and cannot be applied,” the prosecutor explained. Regarding the legal standing of the complainant, the prosecutor stated that the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, is a direct victim in this case. The prosecutor argued that Jokowi’s constitutional rights and personal data are inherently attached to the diploma object allegedly manipulated by Dr Tifa. “Because what was violated are Articles 32 and 35 of the ITE Law, which are ordinary offences, the legal standing of the complainant is non-restrictive in order to protect the integrity of public data,” the prosecutor explained. Furthermore, the prosecutor assessed that Dr Tifa’s exception had already entered into the subject matter of the case. Several points of Dr Tifa’s objections, such as witness immunity rights, press freedom, and the rejection of screenshot evidence, were deemed premature arguments. “These objections cannot be decided in an interim decision but must be rejected and examined together during the evidentiary hearing,” the prosecutor stated. The prosecutor emphasised that the indictment had been prepared in accordance with formal and material requirements. The prosecutor also requested that the judge reject Dr Tifa’s exception in its entirety and that the trial proceed to the evidentiary stage. “Order that the examination of the criminal case on behalf of the defendant Dr Tifauzia Tyassuma be continued to the examination of the subject matter of the case by presenting evidence at trial,” the prosecutor concluded. Dr Tifa was previously indicted for defamation and slander against the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, over allegations of a fake diploma. The case began on 26 March 2025 when a witness and aide to Jokowi, Syarif Muhammad Fitriansyah, informed and showed Jokowi three social media posts that attacked his honour or reputation. The prosecutor stated that Dr Tifa had alleged irregularities in Jokowi’s diploma, including the cover writing, graduation photo, UGM alumni book, and Jokowi’s mention of the late Professor Achmad Soemitro as his thesis supervisor.