Jakarta – Angry protests greeted the acquittal Wednesday of a former Indonesian intelligence official accused of killing a respected human rights activist four years ago.
A court in Jakarta cleared Muchdi Purwopranojo of murder charges in the September 2004 death of Munir Said Thalib, a lawyer heavily involved in human rights work. Protesters outside the courthouse chanted, "Who killed Munir? Muchdi killed Munir."
Munir's widow, Suciwati, said she was angry and disappointed in the verdict. And Usman Hamid, head of the National Commission on Missing Persons, said the family "is hurting from the verdict."
"The decision has turned people's faith in the justice system upside down," said Hamid, who now leads Munir's organization.
Munir died after being poisoned while on a flight to the Netherlands. Munir's supporters say he was the victim of a conspiracy by Indonesia's national intelligence agency, the BIN.
Two other people have been charged and convicted in Munir's death – a pilot for the national airline Garuda Indonesia who was directly linked to the poisoning, and a former Garuda official who authorized him to be on the same flight.
Prosecutors argued that Muchdi gave the orders in the conspiracy. But Hamid said judges treated the case as a personal vendetta by Muchdi, and he said more people from the agency should have been implicated