TODAY IN EDITORIALS & COMMENTARY Poisoned justice The New York Times Published: October 15, 2006 Munir Said Thalib was one of Indonesias most respected human rights lawyers. Over 15 fearless years of work, he exposed military and police atrocities in East Timor and Aceh, defended labor activists and urged all Indonesians to demand accountability from their government. So it was a tragedy, but tragically less than a surprise, when Munir died suddenly on a plane flight to Amsterdam in 2004 - a victim of arsenic poisoning. Munirs memory and Indonesian justice suffered another tragic assault this month when the countrys Supreme Court overturned the conviction of his alleged murderer: a pilot with ties to Indonesias intelligence services. The investigation into Munirs death was an important test for Indonesias still young democracy. It has failed several times over. There was optimism when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appointed an independent fact-finding team. According to local news reports, their findings implicated not only Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto - the airline pilot traveling as a passenger on the fateful flight - but also senior intelligence officials. An examination of Pollycarpuss phone records showed that in the days before and after the flight he made more than two dozen calls to a high- ranking member of the state intelligence agency. The full facts are still not known because Yudhoyono has refused to release his commissions report and prosecutors did not argue the existence of a broader conspiracy. The conviction of Pollycarpus, and only Pollycarpus, was less than satisfying. The Supreme Courts decision to overturn even that sole conviction, claiming insufficient evidence, only adds to the crime. Yudhoyono has said that the investigation into Munirs death was a test case for whether Indonesia has changed. If he is sincere about defending human rights and building an honest legal system, Yudhoyono should immediately release the suppressed report. He should also order a new independent investigation, with a clear presidential mandate to follow the evidence wherever it leads. The truth about who killed Munir is the only antidote for Indonesias poisoned justice system. Copyright © 2006 the International Herald Tribune http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/15/opinion/edindo.php
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