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View all search resultsJokowi diploma challenger faces defamation trial
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Health practitioner Tifauzia “Tifa” Tyassuma (right) arrives for the opening hearing of her defamation trial at the East Jakarta District Court on July 2, 2026. Prosecutors read the indictment accusing her of defaming former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo by alleging that his university diploma was not authentic. (Antara/Fauzan)
H
ealth practitioner Tifauzia “Tifa” Tyassuma faced her first court hearing on Thursday in a defamation case stemming from allegations that former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's university diploma was fake, while former youth and sports minister Roy Suryo continued separate pretrial proceedings over the same controversy.
At the East Jakarta District Court, prosecutors alleged that Tifa had damaged Jokowi's reputation through a series of social media posts and appearances on talk shows throughout 2025, in which she questioned the authenticity of his bachelor's degree diploma.
“Among the 28 social media posts reviewed by Jokowi, five contained the defendant's allegations that his bachelor’s degree diploma was fake,” a prosecutor told the three-judge panel during the livestreamed hearing.
Tifa was charged under the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law and the Criminal Code (KUHP), offenses that carry a maximum prison sentence of six years.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Tifa maintained that she had merely expressed a professional opinion after examining a photograph circulating online that was purported to show Jokowi's diploma from Gadjah Mada University (UGM).
Read also: Jokowi suspects political motive behind diploma scandal, calls to impeach Gibran
“I only commented on one aspect that falls within my expertise, namely the photograph. I used my knowledge of morphological anatomy to provide an explanation,” she said.
