Jakarta. Hasto Kristiyanto, Secretary-General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), filed a civil lawsuit on Monday against Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigators who confiscated his cellphone in connection with the ongoing manhunt for a fellow party member who fled a graft probe.

The KPK is investigating whether Hasto knows the whereabouts of Harun Masiku, who has been on the run for four years. Harun is accused of paying an election official hundreds of millions of rupiah in exchange for help securing a vacant seat in the House of Representatives, a vacancy that arose due to the death of elected member Nazarudin Kiemas, also a PDI-P politician.

The General Election Commission (KPU) had allocated the seat to another PDI-P politician, but Harun, with support from top party members including Hasto, insisted on being awarded the seat.

In renewed efforts to locate Harun, the KPK recently summoned Hasto. He claimed that his cellphone and notebook were seized by a team of KPK investigators after the interrogation.

Ronny Talapessy, a PDI-P-appointed attorney representing Hasto, said the investigators had overstepped their authority by taking personal belongings unrelated to the ongoing corruption investigation against Harun.

"KPK investigators have acted beyond their authority. PDI-P believes in the rule of law, so we filed the lawsuit to seek justice," Ronny said.

The lawsuit, filed at the South Jakarta District Court, seeks a symbolic damage compensation of Rp 1.

“It’s not about money, it’s about justice,” the lawyer emphasized.

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