House told to pursue Munir murder case

Jakarta Post - February 4, 2006

Jakarta - The House of Representatives must act to reveal the masterminds behind the murder of social justice campaigner Munir, rights groups say.

Non-governmental organizations grouped in the Action Solidarity Committee for Munir met with House leaders Friday. They urged legislators to question President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono about his commitment to resolving the murder case.

Munir’s widow, Suciwati, who joined the committee, said the House was the “only hope” to push for a new investigation into the case. “We want the House to act,” she said.

House deputy chairman Muhaimin Iskandar said legislators would continue their efforts to resolve the case.

Munir was found dead on board a Garuda flight traveling from Jakarta to Amsterdam in September 2004. A Dutch autopsy found a deadly amount of arsenic in the body.

A Garuda pilot, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, was recently convicted of the murder. Judges at his trial noted Pollycarpus had made many calls to a deputy head of the State Intelligence Agency before the murder, leading many people to suspect the agency was involved.

 New probe into Munir murder sought

Jakarta Post - February 2, 2006

Jakarta - The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) is calling for a further investigation into the murder of human rights activist Munir.

Kontras coordinator Usman Hamid said Wednesday that Munir’s murder trial had ended in disarray, with judges handing down a questionable 14-year jail sentence to his convicted murderer, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto.

Usman said Central Jakarta District Court judges had noted that Pollycarpus had made 41 phone calls to Muhdi Purwo Prandjono, a deputy head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), in the days prior to Munir’s murder in 2004. However, neither the judges nor prosecutors did anything to follow up this evidence, he said.

The conversations give credence to allegations that Pollycarpus worked for BIN. “Now that the whole trial has ended up in confusion and the verdict has satisfied no one... the case should be investigated again from square one,” Usman told Antara.

Both Pollycarpus’ lawyers and the prosecutors have appealed the verdict.

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Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific
PO Box 458, Broadway NSW 2007 Australia
Phone: 61-(0)2-96901230
Fax : 61-(0)2-96901381
Email: asap asia-pacific-action.org
WWW : www.asia-pacific-action.org

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