Jakarta – Pressure is mounting on the National Police to launch an investigation into former State Intelligence Agency (BIN) officials for their involvement in the murder of rights activist Munir Said Thalib, after the Supreme Court convicted a former Garuda pilot of the crime.

The Supreme Court handed down Friday a 20-year jail term to Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto in a case review of the premeditated murder of the human rights campaigner, who was poisoned aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight to Amsterdam in September 2004.

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Sisno Adiwinoto, however, refused to comment on whether the Supreme Court ruling would result in an immediate investigation into top intelligence officials, whose links with Pollycarpus were unveiled during the trial.

"We have taken several measures, but we can not make them public until we receive a copy of the verdict. For us the court ruling has not officially come into effect," Sisno told The Jakarta Post.

The police had previously said that they would only proceed to investigate former deputy BIN chief Muchdi Purwo Prandjono, who according to a BIN agent's written statement read out in court knew Pollycarpus and gave the then Garuda pilot Rp 10 million for an unknown purpose.

Another BIN official mentioned in the Munir murder trial was the agency's second man in command, M. As'ad. Budi said in his statement that As'ad had ordered then Garuda Indonesia president director Indra Setiawan to assign Pollycarpus as a security officer on the plane that flew Munir to Amsterdam.

Asmara Nababan, a human rights activist and former member of the government-sanctioned fact-finding team to help police investigate the murder, said the court verdict should pave the way for a probe into intelligence officials in connection with the case.

"Now that the ruling is out, the police can no longer stall the investigation into BIN officials like Muchdi and As'ad. The verdict has set an ideal momentum for the police to proceed and step up their investigation," Asmara told the Post.

The fact-finding team recommended that the police question a number of BIN officials, saying it found records of telephone conversations between Pollycarpus and a BIN official. The team also demanded that the police disclose the conversations, but to no avail.

BIN chief Syamsir Siregar has said he would not protect any agency officials. (amr)