Police arrest Dr. Tifa in defamation case over Jokowi's diploma allegations

Indonesian police arrested Tifauzia Tyassuma, widely known as Dr. Tifa, on the morning of Friday, June 19, 2026. The arrest occurred at her apartment around 6:47 AM Western Indonesian Time, according to her legal counsel, Ramdansyah.

Ramdansyah confirmed that Dr. Tifa provided evidence of her presence at the Polda Metro Jaya police headquarters. Later, at 7:23 AM, her legal team confirmed with investigators that the morning's police action constituted an arrest. However, the legal team has not yet received an official statement from the police detailing the legal grounds for the arrest. Ramdansyah noted that Dr. Tifa had been compliant with mandatory reporting requirements at Polda Metro Jaya until the previous week.

Dr. Tifa is among eight individuals suspected in a defamation case involving allegations of a fake diploma belonging to former President Joko Widodo. Another suspect in the same case, Roy Suryo, was also arrested by police on Friday morning around 7:00 AM at his residence, according to his lawyer, Ahmad Khozinudin.

Tempo has reached out to Kombes Iman Imanuddin, Director of General Criminal Investigation at Polda Metro Jaya, and Kombes Budi Hermanto, Head of Public Relations at Polda Metro Jaya, for comment, but had not received a response by the time of publication.