Prosecutors defend charges against Polly

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Prosecutors insisted here on Tuesday that they had solid evidence against Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who stands charged of murdering noted human rights campaigner Munir last year.

"The defendant arranged several things before he killed Munir -- starting from falsifying documents to enable him to be on the same flight as Munir," prosecutor Edy Saputra told the Central Jakarta District Court.

He argued that Pollycarpus had initially been assigned to fly to Bangkok from Sept. 5, 2004 through Sept. 9, 2004, but he produced falsified documents so as to be able to be on the same flight as Munir to the Netherlands on Sept. 6, 2004.

"The defendant also contacted Munir by cellular phone several times to make sure that the latter would not cancel his trip to the Netherlands," Edy added.

He said that in bid to minimize the risks, the defendant persuaded Munir to exchange seats with him, moving from economy to business class during the Jakarta-Singapore leg of the flight.

Munir, who cofounded two human rights watchdogs -- Kontras and Imparsial, was found dead on board the plane two hours before landing in Amsterdam. A Dutch autopsy found a lethal amount of arsenic in his body.

In the previous hearing, Pollycarpus read out his defense plea and claimed he was innocent. The prosecutors had requested the court sentence him to life in prison.

The government's fact-finding team, set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to assist police in investigating the case, concluded that Pollycarpus was an agent of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) while serving as a pilot.

The team also believed that the murder was a conspiracy in which several BIN agents were involved.

During Monday's hearing, Pollycarpus claimed he was a victim of conspiracy. He did not elaborate.

The court adjourned the trial until Wednesday to hear the defendant's response. Presiding judge Cicut Sutiarso said the court would issue a verdict on Friday.