ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
UP-085-2006: INDONESIA: High Court rejects appeal in Munir’s case
INDONESIA: Human rights defenders; impunity; collapse of rule of law
Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to you with updates
regarding the case of the murdered Indonesian human rights activist,
Munir Said Thalib.
It has now been learned that the High Court, on 27 March 2006,
rejected the appeal of the accused, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto,
thus upholding his 14 year sentence after it was proved beyond
reasonable doubt that he committed premeditated conspiracy to murder
(dossier no. 16/Pid/2006/PT.DKI). Accordingly, the dossier has now
been delivered to the District Court for the next process in this case
which allows for either the defendant (Pollycarupus) or the Attorney
General to appeal in the Supreme Court. Though yet to be officially
confirmed, Pollycarupus’s wife has stated that her husband will now
appeal to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, Pollycarpus remains
detained and it is believed will continue to be so until the new
appeal is heard before the court.
The AHRC remains concerned that despite the court ruling that
Pollycarpus “jointly” committed premeditated murder and “jointly”
committed in falsifying a letter, little action has been taken by the
police or the prosecutor to investigate those ultimately responsible
for the death of Munir. Despite the court having called for such an
investigation, nearly four months have now passed since that request
and yet Pollycarpus remains the sole defendant in this case.
When Munir’s wife, Suciwati and Kasum, an organisation looking into
Munir’s case met with the Head of the Criminal Division of the
Indonesian Police and the Attorney General, the Head of the Criminal
Division and the Attorney General assured them that they would meet
with them on a weekly basis to map the progress of this case. These
meetings, however, cannot be considered an appropriate substitute for
a proper and independent investigation into other persons allegedly
involved in Munir’s death.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to the relevant authorities listed below urging
them to take action to ascertain the truth surrounding Munir’s death.
Suggested letter:
Dear _________,
INDONESIA: High Court rejects appeal in Munir’s death
I have recently learnt of new developments in the case of murdered
Indonesian human rights activist, Munir Said Thalib. These include the
High Court rejecting the appeal of the accused, Pollycarpus Budhari
Priyanto, thus upholding his 14 year sentence and the allegation that
he will now appeal to the Supreme Court.
While I welcome the High Court’s decision in rejecting Pollycarpus’s
appeal, I remain concerned by other elements of this case including
the failure to further investigate others implicated in Munir’s
murder. The High Court judgment noted that evidence during the trial
proved that Pollycarpus did not act alone. The court therefore urged
the police to conduct a further investigation in order to uncover
those ultimately responsible for the death of Munir. Yet despite this,
nearly four months have now passed since that request and Pollycarpus
still remains the sole defendant in this case.
Given that Pollycarpus was ruled to have acted “jointly” in murdering
Munir, it is essential that the police and the prosecutor exhaust all
means to further investigate this case and question all persons
likewise implicated in Munir’s murder. Of paramount importance is that
the telecommunication records of Muchdi’s phone conversations with
Pollycarpus be revealed, which is allowed under Law 39/1999.
I am also aware that when Suciwati and Kasum, an organisation looking
into Munir’s case met with the Head of the Criminal Division of the
Indonesian Police and the Attorney General, the Head of the Criminal
Division and the Attorney General assured them that they would meet
with them on a weekly basis to map the progress of this case. These
meetings, however, cannot be considered an appropriate substitute for
a proper and independent investigation into other persons allegedly
involved in Munir’s death.
Until the authorities treat this case with the seriousness it deserves
and until all those responsible for Munir’s death are prosecuted and
punished accordingly, justice will continue to evade a man who gave
his life for the rights of others.
Yours sincerely,
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono
President
Republic of Indonesia
Presidential Palace
Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara
Jakarta Pusat 10010
INDONESIA
Tel: + 62 21 3845627 ext 1003
Fax: + 62 21 231 41 38, 345 2685, 345 7782
2. Mr. Agung Laksono
Chief of the Indonesia House of Representative
Gedung DPR/MPR RI
Jl. Gatot Subroto No. 6
Jakarta
INDONESIA
Tel: + 62 21 5715509; 5715344; 5715621
Fax: + 62 21 5714469, 5734389
3. Gen. Sutanto
Chief of National Police
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 721 8012
Fax: +62 21 720 7277
4. Mr. Abdul Rahman Saleh
Attorney General
Kejaksaan Agung RI
Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 1
Jakarta Selatan
INDONESIA
Tel: + 62 21 7221337, 7397602
Fax: + 62 21 7250213
Email: postmaster kejaksaan.or.id
5. Prof. Dr. Bagir Manan
Chief Justice
Supreme Court
Jalan Merdeka Utara No. 11 - 13
Jakarta Pusat 10110
INDONESIA
Tel: +62 21 3811957 / 345 2223
Fax: +62 21 381 0357
6. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
Attn: Melinda Ching Simon
Room 1-040, c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 93 88
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS)
E-mail: MChingSimon ohchr.org
7. Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Att: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (general)
E-mail: lventre ohchr.org
Thank you.
[RE: UA-164-2004: The family receives death threats for demanding an
impartial inquiry into the death of Munir; UP-30-2005: Unveiling of
suspect in Munir’s death may end further inquiries; UP-47-2005: State
intelligence officers delay Munir investigation; UP-72-2005: Mandate
of fact-finding team into Munir’s murder should be extended and made
more effective; UP-83-2005: Police fail to follow up on fact-finding
report into Munir case; President does not react to requests for
monitoring of the investigation; UP-96-2005: Trial of Pollycarpus
ignores fact-finding team reports; UP-125-2005: President and
Parliament must audit the police investigation performance in Munir’s
case; UP-139-2005: Attack on supporters of Munir outside Jakarta
court; UP-159-2005: Need for further investigation in Munir case;
UP-165-2005: Pollycarpus sentenced to 14-years imprisonment for murder
of Munir; UP-042-2006: INDONESIA: President must take firm steps to
ensure investigation of Munir’s death follows court recommendations]
Urgent Appeal Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk ahrchk.org)
Asian Human Rights Commission
19/F, Go-Up Commercial Building,
998 Canton Road, Kowloon, Hongkong S.A.R.
Tel: +(852) - 2698-6339 Fax: +(852) - 2698-6367