August 9
INDONESIA:
Trial Opens in Murder of Prominent Indonesian Human Rights Activist
A pilot with Indonesia's national airline Garuda went on trial Tuesday for
allegedly Abdullah Hendropriyono, Indonesia's former spy chief, accuses
fact-finding team of being authoritarian and not serious in its finding
mission murdering a prominent human rights activist who was poisoned on a
flight to Europe last September.
Indonesian prosecutors say Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto
murdered human rights activist Munir Said Thalib last September 9 because
he disagreed with Mr. Munir's human rights activities.
The prosecutors charge that Mr. Pollycarpus arranged for arsenic-laced
orange juice to be served to Mr. Munir on a Garuda flight from Jakarta to
Amsterdam last September.
A Dutch autopsy showed Mr. Munir died from arsenic poisoning about two
hours before the flight landed.
Members of a fact-finding team appointed by Indonesia's president say they
found evidence the State Intelligence Agency, or BIN, may have been
involved in Mr. Munir's murder. That investigation team was disbanded by
the government in June, however, and police took over the case.
The fact-finding team's chairman, Asmara Nababan, says Mr. Pollycarpus is
being used as a scapegoat and the government ignored the links between the
pilot and members of the BIN.
"There is a connection between this Pollycarpus and BIN and there is a
need for further investigation of the involvement of the BIN," he said.
A lawyer for Mr. Pollycarpus, Wiraman Adnan, says prosecutors are afraid
to go after the State Intelligence Agency.
"They really do not have any case. They cannot find the real murderer, so
they find an easy target and helpless man like Pollycarpus, because they
have no guts to go after BIN, they go to here. I mean he may be a liar and
things like that, but He's really not a murderer," said Mr. Adnan.
At the time of his death, the 38-year-old Mr. Munir was chairman of
Kontras and Executive Director of Imparsial, 2 human rights organizations.
He had repeatedly criticized the military for alleged human rights
violations, illegal drug smuggling and logging activities.
If convicted of Mr. Munir's murder, Mr. Pollycarpus could face the death
penalty.
(source: Voice of America News)
