Questions about the diploma photograph
Appearing as a witness at the East Jakarta District Court, Jokowi presented his original academic certificates to the judges, defendants, attorneys and spectators. The defamation trial involves former Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo and social media activist Tifauzia Tyassuma, known as Dr. Tifa, who have challenged the authenticity of his bachelor's degree from Gadjah Mada University (UGM).
Tifa's claims about differences between Jokowi's face in the 1985 diploma photograph and his appearance today prompted a prosecutor to ask whether he had changed his facial features since graduating. Jokowi replied: "No, Your Honor. My face has always looked like this, from back then until now." He also said: "I have never worn makeup either."
He nevertheless acknowledged a difference in his appearance at graduation: "I had a mustache and wore glasses, Your Honor." Jokowi said the accusations had gone too far, describing them as baseless and saying they had harmed his reputation over the years.
At Tifa's first hearing on July 2, 2026, prosecutors said five of the 28 social media posts Jokowi had reviewed contained her allegations that his bachelor's degree diploma was fake. Tifa maintained that she had commented only on the photograph, drawing on her expertise in morphological anatomy.
The complaint and charges
Jokowi initiated the current case through his legal representatives, who filed a report with the Metro Jaya Police on April 30, 2025. The complaint concerned alleged defamation and slander through electronic information about his diploma and named five people, including Roy Suryo, Tifa and Rismon Sianipar.
Roy Suryo Notodiprojo is charged under Article 433(1), read together with Article 441(1), of Law No. 1 of 2023, the Criminal Code. Prosecutors also brought subsidiary charges under two sets of provisions in the 2008 Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, as amended by Law No. 1 of 2026: Article 35 with Article 51(1), and Article 32 with Article 48(1).
For Tifa, the primary Criminal Code charge combines Article 434(1) with Article 441(1); the subsidiary charge combines Article 433(1) with Article 441(1). She also faces charges under the same ITE provisions as Roy. The offenses carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison.
Court procedures and security
Judge Christina Endarwati presided over the Nov. 5 hearing. Before giving evidence, Jokowi agreed to take the oath required of witnesses according to Islamic religious procedures.
Authorities stationed 5,570 police officers and 1,200 soldiers around the courthouse, a total deployment of 6,770 personnel organized into three security rings. East Jakarta police chief Alfian Nurrizal said intelligence estimates put expected attendance at about 7,000 Jokowi supporters and between 1,000 and 2,000 supporters of the defendants.
The Straits Times reported that the hearing marked Jokowi's first public appearance since news of a wiretapping scandal emerged on Nov. 3, 2026. That scandal led to the arrest of former national police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo. Listyo had served as Jokowi's first aide-de-camp before Jokowi later selected him to head the police force.
Years of allegations and earlier cases
Questions about Jokowi's academic credentials circulated even before his first presidential election victory in 2014. The dispute has included comparisons between publicly circulated documents and accounts of his educational background. Jokowi has continued to assert that his diploma and other academic records are authentic.
In 2022, "Jokowi Undercover" author Bambang Tri Mulyono filed a lawsuit alleging that Jokowi had used a fake diploma to contest the 2019 presidential election. A Solo court sentenced Bambang and preacher Sugi Nur Raharja to six years in prison in April 2023 for spreading false news about the diploma.
The allegations resurfaced in 2025 with a claim by Rismon Sianipar, a former Mataram University lecturer, that the typeface used on Jokowi's thesis cover had not existed in the 1980s. UGM rejected that assertion, saying fonts of that kind were commonly available at print shops during that period.
Some people who challenged Jokowi's academic records have since retracted their allegations and apologized. Eggi Sudjana and Damai Hari Lubis obtained investigation termination notices, known as SP3s, in January 2026 after seeking restorative justice.
Rismon Hasiholan Sianipar, who was among those named in Jokowi's police report, also reached a restorative-justice settlement with the former president after apologizing twice at Jokowi's residence. The Jakarta Metropolitan Police terminated the investigation against him by issuing an SP3 in April 2026.
