Buster Hyman
20th Dec 2005, 20:48
By Mark Forbes, Jakarta
December 21, 2005
AN AIRLINE pilot linked to the Indonesia's intelligence agency has been found guilty of poisoning a leading human rights activist as part of a broader conspiracy.
Human rights groups marched from the court to the presidential palace, demanding that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ensure that those behind the murder of Munir Thalib are brought to justice.
Lawyer Muhammad Assegaf said his client, Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto, was a scapegoat in the affair. He supported calls for a wider investigation.
The Jakarta District Court sentenced Pollycarpus to 14 years' jail for the "politically motivated" murder of Mr Munir, who led campaigns against human rights abuses in Indonesia, angering the military and intelligence agencies.
"The accused's motivation to kill Munir was because he was a vocal critic of the Government and the Indonesian military," Judge Cicit Sutiarso told a packed courtroom, with demonstrators spilling into the street.
Judge Cicit said Pollycarpus carried out the murder on a flight to Europe in September 2004 after offering Mr Munir his business class seat. He opened the two meals that would be offered to Mr Munir, pouring arsenic into them.
It was a fried noodle dish that contained the fatal dose, not orange juice as previously reported, he said.
"However, the defendant was not alone. There is another party that law enforcement should find," Judge Cicit said.
Mr Munir's death has become a test for Dr Yudhoyono's promises of an open government, free from the repressive tactics of the Soeharto years. Inquiries have been stymied by intelligence officials and a subsequent police investigation stalled after key personnel were transferred.
Asmara Nababan, a member of a fact-finding team appointed by Dr Yudhoyono to examine the murder, concluded that State Intelligence Agency officials may have been involved. He said police had been "blocked" and failed to properly investigate the team's report.
Yesterday's verdict highlighted the need to "find the decision maker, the one who ordered the killing", he said.
The President was reluctant to pursue the issue because the intelligence senior officers and executives of Garuda involved were politically powerful.
"The involvement of intelligence officers is clear," Mr Asmara said.
Speculation has focused on former intelligence head Hendropriyono and chief secretary Nurhadi Djazuli, who was appointed ambassador to Nigeria by Dr Yudhoyono in March.
Although the agency denied any connection to Pollycarpus, the court found he made at least 41 calls to a mobile phone owned by the agency's deputy director, Muchdi Purwopranjono, in the months before and after the death of Mr Munir.
"The court has an opinion that an understanding has been reached between the defendant and the phone caller over the elimination of Munir's life," Judge Cicit said.
Mr Assegaf, Pollycarpus' lawyer, accused the court of taking part in a cover-up of Mr Munir's murder.
The claim that the meal, not the orange juice, was poisoned "never came out of the hearing", he said. "The judges tried to fabricate their own arguments. It makes us believe even more now, we already believe this all the time, that Pollycarpus is somehow sacrificed to cover up the real murderer."
Mr Asmara said supporters would continue to fight for justice over the killing, which had become a symbol for human rights in Indonesia.
Now I know why the crew eat separate meals!!! :ugh:
December 21, 2005
AN AIRLINE pilot linked to the Indonesia's intelligence agency has been found guilty of poisoning a leading human rights activist as part of a broader conspiracy.
Human rights groups marched from the court to the presidential palace, demanding that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ensure that those behind the murder of Munir Thalib are brought to justice.
Lawyer Muhammad Assegaf said his client, Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto, was a scapegoat in the affair. He supported calls for a wider investigation.
The Jakarta District Court sentenced Pollycarpus to 14 years' jail for the "politically motivated" murder of Mr Munir, who led campaigns against human rights abuses in Indonesia, angering the military and intelligence agencies.
"The accused's motivation to kill Munir was because he was a vocal critic of the Government and the Indonesian military," Judge Cicit Sutiarso told a packed courtroom, with demonstrators spilling into the street.
Judge Cicit said Pollycarpus carried out the murder on a flight to Europe in September 2004 after offering Mr Munir his business class seat. He opened the two meals that would be offered to Mr Munir, pouring arsenic into them.
It was a fried noodle dish that contained the fatal dose, not orange juice as previously reported, he said.
"However, the defendant was not alone. There is another party that law enforcement should find," Judge Cicit said.
Mr Munir's death has become a test for Dr Yudhoyono's promises of an open government, free from the repressive tactics of the Soeharto years. Inquiries have been stymied by intelligence officials and a subsequent police investigation stalled after key personnel were transferred.
Asmara Nababan, a member of a fact-finding team appointed by Dr Yudhoyono to examine the murder, concluded that State Intelligence Agency officials may have been involved. He said police had been "blocked" and failed to properly investigate the team's report.
Yesterday's verdict highlighted the need to "find the decision maker, the one who ordered the killing", he said.
The President was reluctant to pursue the issue because the intelligence senior officers and executives of Garuda involved were politically powerful.
"The involvement of intelligence officers is clear," Mr Asmara said.
Speculation has focused on former intelligence head Hendropriyono and chief secretary Nurhadi Djazuli, who was appointed ambassador to Nigeria by Dr Yudhoyono in March.
Although the agency denied any connection to Pollycarpus, the court found he made at least 41 calls to a mobile phone owned by the agency's deputy director, Muchdi Purwopranjono, in the months before and after the death of Mr Munir.
"The court has an opinion that an understanding has been reached between the defendant and the phone caller over the elimination of Munir's life," Judge Cicit said.
Mr Assegaf, Pollycarpus' lawyer, accused the court of taking part in a cover-up of Mr Munir's murder.
The claim that the meal, not the orange juice, was poisoned "never came out of the hearing", he said. "The judges tried to fabricate their own arguments. It makes us believe even more now, we already believe this all the time, that Pollycarpus is somehow sacrificed to cover up the real murderer."
Mr Asmara said supporters would continue to fight for justice over the killing, which had become a symbol for human rights in Indonesia.
Now I know why the crew eat separate meals!!! :ugh:
