Jakarta – Suciwati, the widow of assassinated human rights activists Munir Said Thalib, is continued to fight for justice for her husband. Today, she along with the Solidarity Action Committee for Munir (KASUM), she visited the Attorney General's Office to hand over new evidence in the case.
Suciwati said that the new evidence was related to a Central Information Commission (KIP) ruling issued in 2012.
"[We] met with the Jampidum [Junior Prosecutor for General Crimes]. We talked about what progress there was in the Munir case, my [late] husband. We referred to the 2012 KIP ruling which we challenged in court at the time", Suciwati told KBR by phone on Thursday December 9.
Suciwati explained that KASUM submitted the earlier KIP ruling as a challenge at the State Administrative Court (PTUN). The challenge was on the issue of an assignment letter given to the late Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who was convicted of Munir's murder in 2005, from the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).
The other evidence was related to a letter of assignment for former BIN Deputy Chief Muchdi PR. At the time of Munir's murder, Muchdi claimed that he had been assigned by BIN to duties in Kuala Lumpur.
According to Suciwati, the KIP ruling should be able to be used by the Attorney General's Office as novum or new evidence to reopen the investigation into the Munir case.
"Muchdi's claim in court is one of the points which resulted in him being released [from the charges], because at the time of crucial communication on the successful assassination of Cak [Brother Munir] and then reporting that it was done and so forth, he stated that he was in Kuala Lumpur. Yet he was never assigned there by BIN. And for us this can be used a novum", said Suciwati.
Suciwati added that the meeting at the AGO was also to ask about developments in the case, although she is pessimistic that the case will be followed up by the AGO after hearing the response from Junior Prosecutor for General Crimes Fadil Zumhana.
Not only that, Suciwati also admitted to feeling disappointed over the lack of transparency in the investigation by the AGO. On several occasions she has asked about the results of the AGO's work but on the pretext that they are state documents, Suciwati has not received the answers she wanted.
"I'm a victim remember, the family of the victim. I have a right to know", she said.
Munir Said Thalib was killed by poison during a Garuda Indonesia flight bound for Holland on September 7, 2004.
To this day, the Munir case has left behind many questions over the investigation process. A number of non-government organisations (NGOs) believe the state has not succeeded in providing a sense of justice for the family or the broader public. In addition to this, the state has also failed to investigate or find the mastermind behind Munir's assassination.
Notes
Renowned human rights defender Munir died of arsenic poisoning onboard a Garuda Indonesia flight on September 7, 2004. Although off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto was convicted of the murder in 2005 the alleged mastermind behind the assassination, former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy Muchdi Purwoprandjono, was later acquitted of all charges. Also implicated in the murder but never investigated was former BIN chief AM Hendropriyono. Hendropriyono, a close ally of Megawati Sukarnoputri – the chairperson of President Joko Widodo's ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) – was cited in US diplomatic cables leaked in 2011 as being involved in the planning of Munir's murder.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Temui Jampidum Kejagung, Istri Munir Serahkan Bukti Baru".]
Source: https://kbr.id/nasional/12-2021/temui_jampidum_kejagung__istri_munir_serahkan_bukti_baru/107059.htm