The Indonesian Journalists Association is to sue Central Java security officials accused of roughing up a journalist.

The association's branch in Yogyakarta, central Java, says it will sue the local security authorities in the town of Bantul, ten kilometres south of Yogyakarta.

The chairman of the branch, Oka Kusumayudha, told the Republika daily that if the case was successful the association hoped it would become a precedent for the future safety of the journalistic profession.

On Wednesday, a female reporter suffered bruises to her back when journalists questioning the regent of Bantul, Sri Rosa Sudarmo, about a development project were pushed away from him by security guards.

The safety of journalists has come under public scrutiny following the still unsolved murder of a journalist, Fuad Muhammad Syafruddin, of the Yogyakarta daily Bernas in August.

He had been writing about about controversial land cases and corruption issues, some of them implicating Mr Sudarmo.