Budiman Sudjatmiko and Petrus Heryanto, the chair and secretary-general of the PRD, the People's Democracy Party, have filed a lawsuit against Interior Minister Yogie S. Memed for dissolving and banning their party and the six organisations affiliated to it.

The basis for the lawsuit is articles 27 and 28 of the Indonesian Constitution and Article 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which uphold the freedoms of expression and association. Their lawyers from the Legal Aid Institute, the LBH, argue that the Interior Minister is guilty of misusing his powers.

Paulus Mahulette of the LBH told Media that the minister's decision was in blatant violation of the general principles of good governance including legal certitude, equality, fairness and reasonableness.

The decision inflicted material and non-material damage on the party by provoking public mistrust and creating a wrong perception of the PRD. 'It is not easy to put a price tag on this, but in rupiah terms, the PRD as suffered losses worth Rp 500 million,' the lawyer said.

The decision banning the party issued in September argued that the PRD was not a lawful organisation and that it had not been recognised by or registered with the government, in other words that it was a clandestine organisation. In addition, the leaders of the party are now serving sentences, having been found guilty of subversion, and its party manifesto, 'Towards a People's Multiparty Democracy' has been banned.