Roy Suryo Challenges Suspect Status, Pretrial Hearing Held Today

Roy Suryo has once again filed a pretrial motion in the case of alleged defamation against Indonesia’s 7th President, Joko Widodo (Jokowi). This latest motion questions the validity of the forced measures used in naming him a suspect. The pretrial hearing was held at the South Jakarta District Court on Friday (10/7/2026), with Roy Suryo attending as the petitioner. Representatives from the Metro Jaya Regional Police and the DKI Jakarta High Prosecutor’s Office were present as respondents.

Suryo’s legal counsel, Relfy Harun, argued that the suspect designation under Article 32 paragraph (1) of Law Number 11 of 2008, as amended by Law Number 1 of 2024 concerning the ITE Law, was unlawful. He contended that the application of the article against Suryo contravenes Constitutional Court Decision Number 21/PUU-XII/2014 dated 28 April 2015, in conjunction with Article 184 paragraph (1) of the old Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP). ‘The suspect designation dated 7 November 2025 is invalid because it was carried out unlawfully,’ Refly stated while reading the pretrial motion at the South Jakarta District Court. He further argued that the entire investigation process against Roy Suryo was unlawful.

The petition requests the court to declare the suspect designation invalid and to rule that Suryo cannot be prosecuted under the cited ITE Law article. It also seeks to invalidate the investigation orders and to restore Suryo’s dignity and reputation. This pretrial motion follows a previous successful challenge by Suryo, where the same South Jakarta District Court judge, I Ketut Darpawan, ruled on 7 July 2026 that the search, arrest, and detention of Roy Suryo in the same case were unlawful.