Jakarta – Former Garuda Indonesia president director Indra Setiawan was jailed Monday for one year for assisting the premeditated murder of human rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib.
But the convict is expected to walk free by April as he has already served 10 months in detention at National Police headquarters, South Jakarta. The jail term handed down by the Central Jakarta District Court judges was six months less than prosecutors demanded.
The panel of judges ruled Indra was the victim of a "conspiracy" in the 2004 murder that allegedly involved the National Intelligence Agency (BIN).
"The defendant is on two different sides of the road," presiding judge Heru Pramono said as he delivered the verdict. "On one side he assisted in the murder, and on the other hand he was a victim of a high-level conspiracy."
The judges however stopped short of revealing those behind the conspiracy.
They said Indra had failed to clarify with BIN regarding a flight security officer assignment letter handed to him by Munir's convicted killer Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, a former Garuda pilot. "As the chief of Garuda, he should have thought about it further," Heru said. "The letter should have been confirmed with BIN."
The letter, signed by former BIN deputy director M. As'ad, advised Garuda Indonesia to "assign Pollycarpus as part of the corporation security unit in order to improve the company's safety".
Heru said the defendant knew the letter was linked to an intelligence mission. "By his own logic, he should have been able to reject the letter's request because it could have been used in a criminal act," he said.
Heru said Indra should have consulted chief pilot Karmel Sembiring regarding Pollycarpus' assignment as extra crew on Munir's flight.
Munir was found dead on Sept. 7, 2004 after being poisoned on board a Garuda flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam via Singapore. Last month the Supreme Court sentenced Pollycarpus to 20 years in prison for the murder of Munir.
The judges said they had taken into account Indra's "clean record" during his 30-year's of service to Garuda when applying his sentence. But the fact his action had tarnished Garuda's reputation as the national flag carrier worked against him, they said.
As he left the courtroom after the trial, Indra shouted he was innocent to surrounding reporters. "By God I am innocent and I will appeal," he said.
His lawyer Antawirya Diputro confirmed the plan to appeal, citing some disparities in the decision made against his client. "The letter issued only mentioned a corporate security assignment," Antawirya said. "How could he have known that there would be murder involved?"
On Tuesday, the same court is scheduled to deliver a verdict on suspect Rohainil Aini. The former secretary to Garuda's chief pilot is also charged with conspiracy in the murder. He has been accused of providing forged documents that allowed Pollycarpus to board Munir's flight. (JP/anw)