Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – Despite criticism from human rights activists, the government has defended its recent decision to release Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto, the convicted murderer of human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib, on parole.

Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly said Pollycarpus had been released on parole since he had fulfilled all requirements established by the ministry. "We have no reason to delay his release," he told reporters on Sunday at the State Palace.

Pollycarpus, convicted of the fatal poisoning of Munir during a flight to Amsterdam in 2004, has been released on parole from the Sukamiskin Penitentiary in Bandung, West Java, where he had been imprisoned for the past six years. He was supposed to serve 14 years.

His release has become a blow for human rights campaigners who have been seeking justice for Munir and other unresolved human rights abuses in the country.

Despite earlier pledges from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to resolve the cases, including finding the mastermind behind Munir's murder, the government has been accused of being "careless" in practice.

"Pollycarpus' parole is the manifestation of government's lack of commitment in upholding democracy and human rights. He does not deserve the parole as it was proven that he took part in the murder," said the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation director, Febi Yonesta.

Pollycarpus, a former pilot with state-flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, was sentenced in December 2005 to 14 years in prison by judges at the Central Jakarta District Court for putting arsenic in Munir's tea at Singapore's Changi airport, where Munir was in transit en route to Amsterdam in September 2004.

Pollycarpus was released after accumulating a large number of sentence-remissions during his imprisonment at Sukamiskin Penitentiary, which began in June 2008. He received remissions on 11 occasions for a total of 42 months.

The Supreme Court increased Pollycarpus' sentence to 20 years in 2008 after he failed to win a case review. In 2013, it was cut to 14 years.

Minister Yasonna called on activists to treat Pollycarpus "fairly". "I call on my colleagues not to [be biased]. We need to support human rights but at the same time we have to respect [inmates] rights as a citizen and human being," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/01/law-minister-defends-pollycarpus-parole.html