Pollycarpus may rat on key men in Munir murder

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who has already been declared a suspect in the murder of top rights campaigner Munir, was expected to tell the court who the main actor was in the crime, his lawyer said.

"I expect Pollycarpus to disclose the whole truth (about the murder case) in the court," said lawyer Suhadi Somomoeljono on Saturday as quoted by detikcom news portal.

He said that Pollycarpus, a senior pilot/security officer for flagship carrier Garuda Indonesia, was surprised to learn that he would be charged with premeditated murder.

"Looking at the case formally, it looks like they are going for premeditated murder with Polly as the main suspect. But looking at the files and evidence ... there is hope that the mastermind can be revealed in court. I hope the facts will come out during the hearing," Suhadi said.

Prosecutors are expected to soon submit the case to the court.

Munir was murdered on board a Garuda flight in September last year on his way from Jakarta to Amsterdam. According to an autopsy, the activist who had been a staunch critic of human rights violations by the military died of arsenic poisoning.

Pollycarpus has been charged with "facilitating" the murder by giving his business class seat to Munir, who was sitting in economy class. Pollycarpus, at the time, was officially off-duty on the flight.

The government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (a retired Army general) has been under a lot of pressure to resolve the murder case, which according a recent report prepared by a fact-finding team assigned to help the police in investigating the case implicates former and current officers of the National Intelligence Body (BIN).

Activists have urged Susilo to set up a special commission to monitor the work of the police and make sure that all the people implicated in the case will be put on trial.

The case is seen as a crucial test for Susilo's commitment in upholding the law in the country.