Heru Andriyanto – The Judicial Commission has questioned the three judges who acquitted former top intelligence official Muchdi Purwoprandjono of charges that he orchestrated the murder of prominent rights activist Munir Said Thalib, a commissioner said at the weekend.

"They were questioned by the commission on Friday over allegations that they have breached criminal procedures in arriving at the verdict," said Zainal Arifin, a member of the commission tasked with overseeing the conduct of judges.

A lawyer for Muchdi denounced the questioning and described the judges as intelligent and professional.

The judges from the South Jakarta District Court – Suharto, Ahmad Yusak and Aswandi – cleared Muchdi of all charges on Dec. 31 on the grounds that prosecutors had failed to prove he had a motive to assassinate Munir, who died of arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda Indonesia plane in September 2004.

Zainal declined to elaborate on the results of the questioning, saying the commission would hold an internal meeting in about two weeks time to draw up a conclusion.

"The commission will recommend sanctions if the judges are proven to have violated criminal procedures," said Zainal.

The judges were invited by the commission two weeks ago but Judge Suharto, who presided over the case, failed to show up.

Luthfie Hakim, the head of the defense team for Muchdi, said the commission's move was pointless because the judges had independently delivered the verdict based on the evidence and testimonies put forward during the trial.

"The judges were under pressure from various quarters such as the government and the Supreme Court from the day the trial began, which caused us to underestimate their credibility," Luthfie said.

"But after a series of hearings, I could see from the manner in which the judges questioned the witnesses and examined the evidence, that they were professionals. Now, it's the commission that underestimates them," he said.

A group of legal experts and academics from four universities in April launched an examination into the not-guilty verdict, concluding that the judges had wrongly interpreted the law in acquitting Muchdi.

The prosecution, who had sought a 15-year imprisonment term for Muchdi, have lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court, which has yet to reach a verdict.