Pollycarpus may rat on key men in Munir murder
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.