JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A pilot for national airline Garuda Indonesia went on trial Tuesday over the alleged murder of a prominent human rights activist who was poisoned last year on a flight to Amsterdam. The high-profile case is seen as a crucial test of the government's willingness to crack down on rogue elements within Indonesia's powerful security forces, who for years have operated with impunity. Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, 44, has been identified by government-appointed prosecutors as the sole suspect in Munir Said Thalib's murder -- despite a fact-finding team's report that intelligence agency officials may have been involved.
Prosecutor Domu Sihite told judges at the Central Jakarta District Court the off-duty pilot arranged for Munir to be upgraded from economy to business class on the Sept. 7, 2004, flight, and then ordered two flight attendants to put arsenic into his orange juice.
Pollycarpus, who has denied the charge, faces the death sentence if convicted. The trial was adjourned until Aug. 16, when he will be given a chance to respond.
Munir's supporters chanted "Killer! Killer! Killer!" as Pollycarpus entered and left the small but crowded courtroom. But they insisted the Garuda pilot did not act alone and accused the government of failing to look for the masterminds. Munir was Indonesia's top human rights campaigner and regularly spoke out for justice in the face of intimidation, including death threats. He was an especially vocal critic of Indonesia's military, accusing it of numerous human rights violations in East Timor and the troubled provinces of Papua and Aceh. The 38-year-old activist also accused them of running a criminal network involved in illegal logging and drug smuggling. Analysts said the case shows that Indonesia's security forces -- which were used by ex-dictator Suharto to silence critics -- remain powerful today.
A government-authorized fact-finding team in June said the intelligence agency may have been involved in Munir's death -- but prosecutors made no effort to investigate that link, said Asmara Nababan, one of the team's members. "According to our investigation, Pollycarpus was part of the plot -- but he wasn't the mastermind," he said. "It looks like the government thinks 'if we get Pollycarpus that's enough, we've done our job'," he said. | That's what it looks like from here. |
A Dutch police report said Munir consumed more than 500 milligrams of arsenic -- four times the lethal dose -- while on a flight to the Netherlands, where he was about to begin a master's program in law. |