Jakarta – The legal battle between the widow of murdered rights activist Munir and national carrier Garuda airline continued Thursday at the Central Jakarta District Court, with her lawyers insisting they had a legal basis for suing the company.
Munir Said Thalib died of arsenic poisoning on a Garuda flight from Singapore to Amsterdam in September 2004. His widow, Suciwati, is suing the airline and crew members who worked on the flight, including Pollycarpus, on off-duty Garuda pilot who was on the flight.
Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto was sentenced by a district court in 2005 to 14 years in prison for the murder of Munir. However, the Supreme Court quashed his murder conviction in November 2006.
The court did sentence the pilot to two years in prison for falsifying flight documents. He walked out of jail in December thanks to several sentence remissions.
"They (Garuda and crew) were wrong when they said our suit had no legal basis and that it should be automatically thrown out following the Supreme Court's decision," Choirul Anam, one of Suciwati's lawyers, told the district court during a hearing Thursday. "The decision, in fact, has strengthened our suit."
The Supreme Court's decision surprised many people, and has come under criticism by activists. The police have also been criticized for their failure to solve the murder and bring those responsible to justice.
"All of us should encourage the police to keep on working on the case. They need more confidence to find the mastermind," Suciwati said.
Her lawyers added that the National Intelligence Body (BIN) should also play a more active role in helping the police investigate the murder. According to reports, in the months and weeks before the murder Pollycarpus made about 40 phone calls to high-ranking BIN officials.
Suciwati filed her lawsuit against Garuda and crew members, including Pollycarpus, last year. The suit accuses Garuda of negligence resulting in the death of Munir.
Heru Santoso, a lawyer for the airline, said Garuda and its employees followed normal flight procedures in seating and serving Munir.
In response, Suciwati said: "The crew was negligent and failed to keep a proper watch over the food and beverages, which in fact led to Munir's death."
Authorities believe the arsenic that killed Munir was placed in a meal he was served during the flight.
Suciwati has been active in seeking international support for her campaign for justice. "This country continues to maintain impunity for human rights violators, many of whom have never been convicted," she said.
Presiding judge Andriani Nurdin adjourned the trial until Jan. 24.