Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The early release of Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, the only suspect in the 2004 murder of noted human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib, sparked protests Tuesday from his widow Suciwati and rights activists.

"It shows that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is not serious about resolving the Munir case," Suciwati said while reading out a joint statement issued by the Solidarity Action Committee for Munir (KASUM).

She said she had talked with presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng to ask about Yudhoyono's response to Pollycarpus' release, and about the progress of a police investigation into the murder. "Go ask the police about this," Suciwati quoted Andi as saying. "The answer was hurtful to me," she added.

Pollycarpus, a 45-year old pilot, was freed from Jakarta's Cipinang prison Monday after receiving a three-month reduction in his sentence in honor of Christmas.

He was originally sentenced to 14 years by the Central Jakarta District Court last year on charges of poisoning Munir. Authorities believe the activist was given arsenic on board a Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam two years ago.

The Supreme Court quashed the conviction in October, citing a lack of evidence, but upheld Pollycarpus' two-year sentence for falsifying flight documents.

He was supposed to be released in March 2007, but the government granted him a one-month Christmas remission and an additional two months it said he should have received on Independence Day in August.

Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Usman Hamid said the remission was unreasonable.

"If one of the criteria for getting a sentence reduction is to show good conduct as stated in the law, Pollycarpus should not have been granted a remission because he has been unwilling to cooperate with the police in the Munir murder investigation," he argued. "Not being cooperative is not good conduct."

Khoirul Anam of KASUM said Pollycarpus was clearly involved in the plot to kill the activist, but the Supreme Court and Pollycarpus himself never clarified his motives for falsifying flight documents in order to board Munir's flight. "Pollycarpus refused to tell the police who had ordered him to falsify the documents and for what purpose," Khoirul said.

Catholic priest Sandyawan said the release of Pollycarpus on Christmas Eve violated the true message of the birth of Jesus Christ. "An act of forgiveness should be done in the spirit of serving justice, not impunity," he said.

KASUM reiterated its demand that the Yudhoyono administration establish a new fact-finding team to speed the police investigation of the murder.

The President had pledged to resolve the Munir case by revitalizing the probe, but no substantial progress has been made.