Jakarta – The US government urged Indonesia to release the results of an independent probe into the murder of a prominent rights activist, and to prosecute all those involved in the crime, a statement said Wednesday.
The US State Department applauded the conviction of state airline pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in prison, but called on the government to bring to justice others who the court said were involved.
"The judges concluded that the defendant acted as part of a larger conspiracy and urged Indonesian authorities to continue their investigation," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack in a statement.
"We encourage Indonesia's pursuit of justice for the murder of Munir, and we are heartened by the court's call for further investigation into this crime," he said.
The State Department also urged the government to release the confidential report of a fact-finding team that reportedly found others, including members of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), may have been involved in the assassination of Munir, whowas poisoned during a flight to Amsterdam in September.
"We encourage Indonesia to release publicly the Fact Finding Team's report and to take appropriate law enforcement measures against any persons implicated in the crime," McCormack said.
Munir, 38, a vocal critic of Indonesia's military for alleged human-rights abuses in the conflictive provinces of Aceh and Papua, died Sept. 7 of arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight bound for Amsterdam from Jakarta.
The court said Tuesday that Pollycarpus was "not the only one behind Munir's death," and specifically cited discussions between the pilot and another person through a cellular phone belonging to Muchdi Purwoprandjono, former deputy chief of BIN.
Muchdi has admitted, in witness testimony in a previous court hearing, to having owned the mobile phone, but said that he was not the only person using it.
A group of dozens of rights activists rallied outside the court building Tuesday, accusing BIN of being involved and calling on President Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono to bring to justice the masterminds of the killing.
Susilo established an independent body, consisting of 13 members from various backgrounds ranging from non-government organizations to government officials, to investigate the case after allegations surfaced that the intelligence agency may have been involved.
Despite members of the fact-finding team saying their investigation pointed to the involvement of certain intelligence officials and recommended a police investigation into their suspected connection in the case, Susilo has been criticized for refusing to release and act swiftly on the results of the probe.