Melanie, grouped with 31 other plaintiffs under "Gerakan Inisiatif Bersihkan Udara Koalisi Semesta", or for short Gerakan Ibu Kota (Coalition for the Clean Air Initiative), informed that the civil lawsuit was registered with file number 374/PDT.G/LH/2019/PN.JKT.PST.
For the first trial, Melanie, a singer-cum-activist, remarked that the plaintiffs had prepared the requisite documents to be presented at court.
"The court will check our documents, and we are confident that it has been completed," she informed the press at the court.
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Apart from Melanie and other plaintiffs, representatives of some environmental groups that joined the coalition also appeared in court on Thursday morning to attend the trial.
"For the first trial, we will be assisted by our fellow friends from LBH Jakarta (the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute), Greenpeace Indonesia, Walhi (the Indonesian Forum for the Environment), and Koalisi Pejalan Kaki (the Pedestrian's Coalition)," Melanie remarked.
Dozens of citizens have sued the Indonesian government, Environment and Forestry Ministry, Health Ministry, Home Affairs Ministry, and Jakarta provincial government over the severe air pollution in the capital city.
Related news: Jakarta health office makes efforts to tackle air pollution issue
Melanie elaborated that the group of plaintiffs had lodged a civil lawsuit over claims that the government had violated the people's rights to breathe clean air. "This lawsuit is devoid of any political interest. This issue is purely to defend our rights to a better life," she stated.
By Thursday morning, Jakarta was ranked as the most polluted city in the world, as the capital city's air quality was rated 161. The record was shared by the satellite-based air quality monitoring application AirVisual at 11:30 a.m. local time on Thursday.
Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, was the world’s second most polluted city, while Dhaka in Bangladesh ranked third.
Related news: Air pollution in Jakarta to become worse: Greenpeace
Translator: Galih Pradipta, Genta Tenri Ma
Editor: Azizah Fitriyanti
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
