SBY wants man behind Munir's murder nabbed

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered law enforcement officials to continue their investigation into the murder of human rights activist Munir to determine who orchestrated the killing.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said the order, coming a day after a Garuda pilot was sentenced to 14 years in jail for his role in the murder, was specifically addressed to the police, the National Intelligence Agency and the Attorney General's Office.

"It is not easy to unravel the conspiracy behind Munir's murder, but the President has ordered all relevant institutions to continue investigating the case until the mastermind of the murder is punished," Andi said on Wednesday.

Andi said the President delivered his order directly to National Police chief Gen. Sutanto shortly after a meeting in Surabaya late on Tuesday night.

"The President said a successful investigation of the case would determine the credibility of his administration. He underlined that whoever was responsible for the murder must be punished," the spokesman said.

The Central Jakarta District Court sentenced on Tuesday Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto to 14 years in jail for his part in Munir's murder.

The panel of judges said they did not sentence the defendant to life imprisonment, as demanded by the prosecution, because they believed there were others behind the killing of the rights campaigner.

Munir was poisoned aboard a Garuda flight bound for Amsterdam in September last year. He died about two hours before the plane landed.

The judges said the murder was likely related to Munir's criticism of the government, the military and the country's intelligence agencies.

National Police chief Gen. Sutanto responded to the President's order by saying he expected Pollycarpus and the public to provide authorities with more information about the murder.

Sutanto, who took over his post in July, said the police investigation was hampered by the fact that they did not have access to the crime scene.

Dutch authorities conducted an autopsy on Munir's body and a preliminary investigation into the murder, including questioning several witnesses.

Sutanto, however, said officers were moving ahead with the investigation. "We have made some progress in investigating the case," he was quoted as saying by Antara.

Separately, human rights activists urged the President to set up an independent team under his direct supervision to oversee the investigation, saying "a crime involving this kind of conspiracy could not be solved using traditional methods".

They also asked the President to follow up on a report submitted to him by a now defunct fact-finding team set up by the government to investigate Munir's murder.

"The team recommended that several National Intelligence Agency (BIN) officials be questioned in connection with the case," rights activist Hendardi, who was part of the fact-finding team, said on Wednesday.

After officially taking over the investigation from the fact- finding team, the police questioned former BIN deputy chief Maj. Gen. (ret) Muchdi Purwopranjono and BIN secretary-general Nurhadi Djazuli. Muchdi testified at Pollycarpus' trial as a witness.