Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The attorney general has questioned police for failing to investigate Maj. Gen. Muchdi Purwoprandjono, a former deputy chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), in connection with the murder of human rights campaigner Munir.
Abdul Rahman Saleh raised the concern during a closed-door meeting Thursday with Munir's widow Suciwati at the Attorney Generals' Office, said Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence coordinator Usman Hamid.
"We asked the attorney general to take the initiative to investigate Muchdi because we need decisive legal action against him," said Usman, who attended the meeting with other human rights activists.
During the meeting, Usman presented a printed record from state-owned telephone operator Telkom, which showed regular communications between Muchdi and Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, both before and after the Sept. 7, 2004 murder.
The transcript was used as evidence by the Jakarta District Court, which convicted Pollycarpus of playing a role in the crime. At the trial of the convict, Muchdi denied any involvement in the poisoning.
"A total of 41 phone conversations between Muchdi and Pollycarpus were made before and after the murder. Isn't that strange? What's their relationship. Even a close friend would not have made such frequent calls," Usman said after the meeting. He said Abdul Rahman pledged to continue requesting help from the Dutch authorities to provide more evidence and data related to the murder.
Pollycarpus was sentenced in December last year to 14 years' jail. The court also ordered police and prosecutors to expose the masterminds behind the murder.
However, the police probe appears to have led nowhere and Muchdi and other former BIN officers suspected of involvement in the case remain untouchable.
However, a police source said they had set up a new team led by Brig. Gen. Anton Carlian in January 2006. In its second meeting with the activists in February, the team "promised to arrest Muchdi" for the case. "But, we have seen no progress to date," Usman said.
Munir, who was a staunch critic of the government and military for their poor human rights records, was found dead aboard a Garuda flight. A Dutch autopsy found a lethal dose of arsenic in his body.