Roy Suryo and Doctor Tifa Arrested by Polda Metro, Refly Harun Alleges 'Orders' Behind It

Polda Metro Jaya arrested telematics expert Roy Suryo and Dr Tifauzia Tyassuma, known as Dr Tifa, in the early hours of Friday, 19 June 2026. Both are suspects in an alleged defamation case related to accusations of a fake diploma belonging to the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. After being detained, Roy Suryo and Dr Tifa were immediately taken to the Polda Metro Jaya headquarters for further examination. The arrests drew protests from their legal team. Lawyer Refly Harun deemed the police action disproportionate, as it was carried out at dawn despite the suspects being cooperative and showing no signs of intending to flee. Refly revealed that Roy Suryo was taken away before he could properly prepare himself. “He said he didn’t have time to do anything, thankfully he had managed to perform the dawn prayer. So he hadn’t bathed, wasn’t properly dressed, and was forced to go to Polda Metro Jaya,” Refly Harun stated in Jakarta on Friday. Meanwhile, Dr Tifa was detained while preparing to attend a seminar on her dissertation. Despite the circumstances, both complied with the legal process without resistance and were subsequently taken to the examination room of the Sub-Directorate for State Security at Polda Metro Jaya. Refly Harun questioned the motives behind the arrest, suggesting the legal process against Roy Suryo and Dr Tifa was not purely a matter of law enforcement. He suspected certain interests were at play behind the investigators’ actions. “We cannot question those who are merely carrying out orders. If one of the investigators said, ‘we are just following orders, brother,’ then the question is, who issued those orders?” Refly Harun remarked. He argued that the activities of Roy Suryo and Dr Tifa were closer to expressing opinions and reviewing documents that had already become public consumption. He therefore questioned the rationale for the sudden arrests. “Did the person who issued those orders receive messages from other parties? All this time, there has always been provocation for Roy Suryo to be arrested, detained, and so forth. Yet, once again, this is not a crime in the criminal law sense, such as murder, corruption, torture, and the like,” he explained.