Roy Suryo's Lawyer Claims Arrest Serves Jokowi's Political Interests

The legal counsel for Roy Suryo, Ahmad Khozinudin, has claimed that the arrest of his client by Polda Metro Jaya investigators was not carried out according to proper procedure. He stated that the authorities should have used a summons mechanism before resorting to coercive measures in the alleged defamation case related to the diploma of the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi). Ahmad said his party had actually prepared to present Roy Suryo if needed for further examination, including during the case transfer stage. He noted there was no prior communication or summons letter before the arrest took place. “If the target was simply to present our client to provide a statement during the investigation process, it would have been very easy. There are two mechanisms: the first is to contact us, the second is to issue a direct summons letter,” Ahmad said in Jakarta on Friday, 19 June 2026. “We had even scheduled a meeting to prepare for a potential summons from investigators regarding the second stage, so we could present the suspect in that process. But instead of receiving a summons letter from investigators, today they have paraded and exposed themselves, revealing that the motive of this law enforcement is no longer to uphold truth and justice,” he continued. He then assessed that the arrest had motives beyond pure law enforcement. According to him, the authorities’ actions were more inclined to fulfil the interests of the reporting party, namely Jokowi’s camp. “I assert that the motive behind Roy Suryo’s arrest is to serve the interests of the complainant, Mr Jokowi. Because many times, Jokowi’s camp has repeatedly requested detention, repeatedly requested arrest,” he said. Ahmad Khozinudin also highlighted a perceived disparity in treatment compared to other parties whose cases, he claimed, had permanent legal force but were not followed up legally. He argued this demonstrates an imbalance in law enforcement. Furthermore, he opined that the authorities did not use a more humane approach such as a summons, but instead proceeded directly with an arrest action. He stressed that arrests should not be used arbitrarily.