Farouk Arnaz – Supporters of murdered rights activist Munir Said Thalib on Monday welcomed the Judicial Commission's decision to question the three judges who acquitted former intelligence official Muchdi Purwoprandjono of charges that he had ordered the hit.

"We urge the Judicial Commission to pass the results on to the Supreme Court so they can consider it when they issue the verdict," Usman Hamid, a member of the Committee of Action and Solidarity for Munir (Kasum), said during a press conference.

The Attorney General's Office, which had sought a 15-year imprisonment term for Muchdi, lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court in January against the controversial acquittal. The court is yet to issue its verdict.

"We demand the Supreme Court issue its verdict before the presidential election in July so that the verdict will be purely based on the law and will have no political interference," Usman said, adding that vice presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto is widely known to be a close friend of Muchdi.

Both men served in the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) and are currently active in the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

In urging the Supreme Court to issue a verdict, Usman said that "they were able to issue the verdict after only five months for Pollycarpus Priyanto," referring to the former Garuda pilot who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for the murder.

Muchdi, who was accused of masterminding the murder on Sept. 7, 2004, was acquitted of all charges by the district court on Dec. 31, 2008, sparking outrage among local and international rights groups.

The panel of judges hearing the case said prosecutors had failed to prove any link between Muchdi and Pollycarpus.

Munir died on a Garuda flight to Amsterdam, after Pollycarpus administered a fatal dose of arsenic to his drink during a stopover in Singapore.

"We have been trying to find an explanation as to why the Supreme Court has not issued their verdict on this case, but we failed," said Suciwati, Munir's widow.

Legal experts and academics from four universities in April launched an examination into the acquittal, concluding that the judges had wrongly interpreted the law.

"We will never stop. We will keep demanding that all parties try to investigate this case," said Hendardi, another Kasum member.