Farouk Arnaz – Hundreds of protestors gathered outside the National Police headquarters on Tuesday to demonstrate against the acquittal of Muchdi Purwoprandjono on a charge of ordering the murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib.
"We urge National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri to reactivate the Munir investigation team to collect more evidence and pass it to the Attorney General's Office to help in their effort to request a Supreme Court review of Muchdi's acquittal," said Chrisbiantoro, one of the protesters.
He said the AGO also should assemble a team to resume work on the high-profile murder of the prominent activist. "We also want to notify the Presidential Palace of our demands because we need political support to reopen this case," another protester, Ainul Yakin said.
The rally was attended by members of at least 15 organizations grouped under the umbrella of "Munir's Friends."
Munir, the founder of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), died of arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda Indonesia plane en route to Amsterdam on September 7, 2004.
Pollycarpus Priyanto, a former Garuda pilot, who was on the same flight as an aviation security officer but disembarked in Singapore, was convicted of administering a fatal dose of arsenic in Munir's drink. Pollycarpus was sentenced to 20 years in prison on a murder charge.
Former Garuda president Indra Setiawan and former flight attendant Rohainil Aini were each sentenced to one year in jail as accessories to the murder.
But prosecutors failed to convict retired Army General Muchdi, who came under fierce criticism from Munir and Kontras as the head of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) over the kidnapping of students and activists in 1997-98.
Prosecutors earlier told the court that Muchdi ordered Munir's murder in retaliation for losing his military post. They said Muchdi was dismissed from the military's elite unit following criticism of his human rights record and later used his power as deputy chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) to orchestrate the assassination by recruiting Pollycarpus.
On Dec. 31, 2008, the South Jakarta District Court acquitted Muchdi of all charges on the grounds that prosecutors had failed to prove motive. In June, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal by prosecutors challenging Muchdi's acquittal.
The remaining legal option for prosecutors to pursue Muchdi's conviction is by requesting a case review. The AGO has indicated already that it might request a Supreme Court review of Muchdi's acquittal.