Police to question Garuda crew on Munir's death
Police to question Garuda crew on Munir's death
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Almost two weeks after the revelation that rights campaigner
Munir died of arsenic poisoning, the National Police will finally
start its investigation by questioning the Garuda flight crew
members who flew the activist to the Netherlands.
National Police Detective chief Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung
Sudjono said on Thursday that sometime this week the police would
question pilots, co-pilots and stewardesses of Garuda flights
from Jakarta to Amsterdam, to collect information relating to
Munir's untimely death.
"We will question the pilots and co-pilots on the flights, the
stewardess who gave Munir refreshments, and Dr. Tarmidzi Hakim
who was with Munir during his critical moments," Suyitno told
reporters on the sideline of a House of Representatives hearing
with National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar.
Suyitno said that information from the crews would be critical
in shedding light on the circumstances relating to Munir's death.
"The autopsy report does not give us enough substantial
information, such as when Munir died and how the arsenic was
given to him," he said.
He said the police had notified Garuda executives about the
planned investigations. Garuda spokesman Pujobroto had earlier
said the management of the Indonesian flag carrier pledged to
assist the police with their investigation.
Munir died three hours before a Garuda flight landed at
Schipol Airport on Sept. 7.
An autopsy by a Dutch forensic team found excessive levels of
arsenic in Munir's stomach, blood and urine, suggesting that the
activist had died of poisoning.
The National Police and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have
dispatched a joint team to the Netherlands to run an
investigation into Munir's death. However, the team appears to
have gone to the Netherlands unprepared for a full-fledged
investigation, as shown by its failure to produce an official
request from the Indonesian government to obtain the original
copy of the autopsy report.
On Thursday a number of House members criticized the police's
slow response to Munir's death and the investigating team's
inaction in the face of intricacies of the Dutch bureaucracy.
"I was told that members of the investigating team could
barely speak English and had to use interpreters during their
visit. I doubt if they could work effectively," legislator
Trimedya Panjaitan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI-P) said.
Trimedya added that another team set up by the police in
Jakarta had barely started work to investigate into Munir's
death.
Separately, Chief Justice Bagir Manan said the police did not
have to secure court approval in order to start investigations
based on the copy of autopsy documents sent by the Dutch
government to Jakarta.
"The police could continue their investigation without the
consent of the court," he said.
Police had considered seeking a court decision concerning the
validity of the documents, which were produced in a foreign
country.
Meanwhile, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid
Awaluddin said the government had yet to determine the structure
and design of the independent team to investigate Munir's death.
"I still don't know what the team will look like," he said
after a meeting with a number of activists in his office.
In a meeting with Munir's wife, Suciwati, President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono agreed to establish an independent team to
investigate the case.