Tiarma Siboro and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Condolences poured in on Wednesday for the family and relatives of top human rights campaigner Munir who died on board a Garuda flight to Amsterdam, while the precise cause of his death remained a mystery.

"We have lost one of the most persistent fighters for democracy, someone who never stopped struggling for what he believed was true. He has contributed his understanding and comprehension of human rights to the country," President Megawati Soekarnoputri said. "I have also expressed my deep sympathy for Munir's bereaved relatives," she said before departing for Brunei Darussalam.

Her husband, Taufik Kiemas, visited the Munir family home in Bekasi on Wednesday evening to pay his last respects.

Separately, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said that no Indonesian officials had been allowed to see Munir's corpse, which was kept under close guard by the Schiphol airport authorities while awaiting for an autopsy to be performed. "However, we are cooperating with the Netherlands authorities in handling this matter," he added.

Activist Asmara Nababan said that a team of Dutch doctors had begun an autopsy on Munir, and that it would take around two days. "Curiosity about Munir's sudden death is rife, and it has encouraged doctors in the Netherlands to conduct an autopsy with or without the consent of his family," he told The Jakarta Post. Asmara said Munir's body could only be flown to Indonesia on Saturday at the earliest.

Munir's wife Suciwati, his father and fellow activist Usman Hamid left for the Netherlands on Wednesday night to bring Munir's body home for burial in his hometown of Malang, East Java.

Deepest condolences were also expressed by the Indonesian Military, which was often the target of staunch criticism from Munir over its repressive policies. "We can only pray that God will bless his family. I know that during his life, Munir never stopped criticizing us [the military], but we accepted such criticism with an open heart," TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told the Post.

Dozens of rights activists along with victims of violence gathered at the offices of human rights watchdog, Impartial, which Munir chaired, and prayed to mourn his death on Tuesday.

Colleagues who worked with him in the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), which Munir founded in 1988, also held a gathering to pay their last respects to him.

Smitha Notosusanto of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) called on all Indonesian people to fly the national flag at half-mast for a week to mourn the death of Munir at the age of 38.

Meanwhile, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said the police would investigate the cause of Munir's death. "The death happened on board a Garuda Indonesia plane. That means that the incident took place in Indonesian territory. We will conduct an investigation pending the autopsy report from a hospital in the Netherlands," Da'i added.