Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The National Police should create a progress report on its investigation into human rights activist Munir Said Thalib's murder and frequently update the public on the matter, a human rights watchdog says.
"The police needs to give the public a recurrent report on the progress of Munir's murder investigation. People should not lose focus that the important thing is to find the mastermind behind the murder," the head of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence's impunity division, Haris Azhar, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Haris said the public had been kept in the dark about the latest investigation of suspects Indra Setiawan and Rohainil Aini.
"We haven't heard much about the investigation results for a while," he said. "The rumor that Indra Setiawan was somehow released from detention by the police was brought up first by the public. The police should have anticipated it by making their statement first before people pressed them."
National Police chief Gen. Sutanto thoroughly dispelled this allegation after it was made.
Indra's lawyer, M. Assegaf, reported Thursday that his client was missing from his cell without notification. The lawyer only said that guards informed him that Indra "was being borrowed" by investigators.
Haris added that police should disclose their findings for further examination and scrutiny. "Their findings should be analyzed and treated the right way so they won't have any counterproductive results," he said.
Meanwhile, National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Bambang Hendarso Dhanuri told legislators that a key witness in the murder case, Raymond "Ongen" Latuihamalo, was currently under police protection.
"There are several witnesses, including Ongen, who could reopen the case of Munir's murder," Bambang told members of the House of Representatives Commission III for legal affairs.
Munir was found dead onboard a Garuda flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam, which included a stopover in Singapore. Dutch forensic authorities found excessive amounts of arsenic in his system.
Bambang said the arsenic poisoning occurred during transit at Singapore's Changi Airport, a conclusion reached after extensive laboratory testing in Seattle and the further cross-examination of key witnesses and experts.