Heru Andriyanto – The conviction of Rohainil Aini last Tuesday could not serve as supporting evidence in prosecutors' attempts to overturn the acquittal of the alleged mastermind in the murder of rights activist Munir Said Thalib, an official said on Thursday.

Rohainil, a former flight attendant with state carrier Garuda Indonesia, was sentenced to one year in jail by the Supreme Court for providing fake flight documents to former pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto, who is now serving a 20-year jail term for his role in the murder of Munir on a September 2004 flight to Amsterdam.

Her conviction was seen by many as a boost to the appeal against the acquittal of former top intelligence official Muchdi Purwoprandjono, who was accused of ordering the murder.

But a senior prosecutor in the Attorney General's Office disagreed, saying Rohainil and Muchdi were tried for different cases.

"Rohainil is convicted of document forgery, while our case against Muchdi is mainly about premeditated murder," said Abdul Hakim Ritonga, deputy attorney general for general crimes.

"I don't think that the fresh Supreme Court verdict on Rohainil will in any way help our appeal in the Muchdi case," he told the Jakarta Globe.

The appeal documents had been completed and would be filed to the Supreme Court before Monday, Abdul said.

The South Jakarta District Court on Dec. 31 acquitted retired army general Muchdi, a former National Intelligence Agency deputy chairman, of charges that he ordered Pollycarpus, who was said to be an undercover agent, to poison Munir with arsenic.

Prosecutors immediately requested an appeal against the acquittal on the belief that the judges had ignored key evidence and testimonies that linked Muchdi to Pollycarpus, who in January last year was sentenced to 20 years for the murder.