Jakarta – A peaceful rally, to commemorate the death of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib in front of the State Palace on Wednesday, turned violent as the police attempted to prevent protestors from approaching the palace.

Demonstrators say the police did not expect them to march toward the State Palace, as they usually conduct their annual commemoration at the National Monument, which is located just across from the palace.

Police started to kick and hit some of the demonstrators, while others tried to push they way out of the police blockade. Some of those attending the rally were injured, including Usman Hamid from the Commission from Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), who was hit and lost his eyeglasses during the chaos, and Tunggal Pawestri, who injured her left elbow.

"We approached the palace spontaneously to deliver our appeal to the President; we just wanted to be heard," said one of the protestors.

Munir was found dead on a Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to the Netherlands on September 7, 2004. An autopsy carried out by Dutch authorities showed that he died as a result of arsenic poisoning.

A Garuda pilot, Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment in 2008 for the premeditated murder of Munir. Many believe that Pollycarpus did not act alone.

London-based rights group, Amnesty International, has urged the Indonesian Attorney General's Office (AGO) to initiate a new investigation into Munir's murder.