Roy Suryo Criticises Jokowi's Meeting with University Friends Ahead of Diploma Trial

Telematics expert Roy Suryo has sharply criticised a meeting between Indonesia’s 7th President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and several of his university friends from the Faculty of Forestry at Gadjah Mada University (UGM). The meeting was deemed a form of witness conditioning ahead of a trial over an alleged defamation case linked to accusations of a fake diploma. The criticism was delivered by Roy after attending the first hearing of his third pre-trial at the South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday (22/7). Roy asserted that, under legal ethics, witnesses must not be conditioned before giving testimony before a panel of judges. “It’s just funny, but there are rules. Actually, the ethics of a witness is that they cannot be conditioned. It is prohibited,” Roy Suryo told journalists at the location. Roy also highlighted reports regarding transport and accommodation facilities provided jointly for the witnesses. According to him, the admission of shared accommodation constitutes a violation of the principle of witness independence. In agreement with Roy, his legal counsel, Abdul Gafur Sangadji, stressed that witnesses should provide testimony freely without pressure or psychological conditioning. He assessed that the provision of certain facilities could create a perception of testimony being directed in court. “In procedural law, conditioning a witness is not allowed, because a witness is someone whose testimony will be assessed. Whether psychologically, through transport, or accommodation, being conditioned is actually unseemly because this is being watched by the public,” said Abdul Gafur. On the other hand, Jokowi had previously confirmed the meeting at his residence in Solo. He stated that the gathering with his classmates was part of the preparations for facing the trial with defendant Dr Tifa, which is taking place at the East Jakarta District Court. A total of 15 of Jokowi’s university friends are scheduled to appear as witnesses in the case. To date, the legal processes related to Roy Suryo’s pre-trial and the main defamation case are still ongoing in their respective courts.