Roy Suryo Loses Third Pretrial Motion

A judge at the South Jakarta District Court has refused to accept a third pretrial motion filed by Roy Suryo. The judge ruled that Roy Suryo’s claim for compensation is not a matter for a pretrial hearing. “The petitioner’s pretrial motion is declared inadmissible,” the judge stated while reading the verdict at the South Jakarta District Court on Thursday (6/8/2026). The judge explained that matters of compensation are regulated by the government through the Minister of Finance. The judge stated that compensation is not within the purview of a pretrial hearing. “Because the authority to make compensation payments is vested by the state in the Minister who administers governmental affairs in finance, in this case the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Finance must be named as a party in this case. Considering that the Minister of Finance was not named as a party, this application contains a formal defect,” the judge said. This is Roy Suryo’s third motion. Previously, a judge had partially granted Roy Suryo’s pretrial motion concerning the search, arrest, and detention. The pretrial judge stated that the decision did not affect the main case. Subsequently, Roy Suryo filed another pretrial motion regarding his suspect status in the defamation case involving the academic credentials of Indonesia’s 7th President, Joko Widodo (Jokowi). The judge rejected Roy’s entire pretrial motion regarding his suspect status. The judge also stated that Roy Suryo was abusing the pretrial process to delay the main trial. For context, Roy Suryo and Tifauzia Tyassuma, also known as Dr Tifa, were named suspects in the defamation case concerning the academic credentials of Indonesia’s 7th President, Joko Widodo (Jokowi). The case files for Roy Suryo and Dr Tifa have been transferred to the East Jakarta District Court. The East Jakarta District Court judge previously granted Dr Tifa’s exception. Prosecutors have since resubmitted Dr Tifa’s indictment to the East Jakarta District Court.