On the first anniversary of the murder of Munir, one of Indonesia’s leading human rights defenders, Human Right First calls for quick and effective action to bring his killers to justice. In a new white paper, Human Rights First calls for the immediate release of an official fact-finding report handed to the Indonesian president more than two months ago. The release would help ensure the report’s recommendations were acted upon, including the creation of a commission with sufficient authority to investigate intelligence officials implicated in the activist’s death.
“Munir devoted his life to finding the truth and exposing abuses of power,” said Neil Hicks, Director of International Programs. “Now his own death is the subject of a fact-finding report, and the Indonesian government will not muster the political courage to release it as planned.”
Human Rights First’s white paper draws on court documents, interviews, and direct trial observation to review the investigation and first stage of the trial of the only suspect charged with Munir’s murder, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto. A pilot for state-run airline Garuda Indonesia, Priyanto is charged with offering his business class seat to Munir and then putting arsenic in his orange juice. Members of the fact-finding team have expressed concern that the defendant may only be a small player in a much larger plot.
While this trial is still underway, it is already clear that it is unlikely to achieve accountability for Munir or his family. The indictment does not draw on any of the findings of the official fact-finding team. After carrying out interviews and reviewing documents for the first six months of 2005, the team handed its report to President Yudhoyono on June 23. Despite a weak mandate and limited access to top officials, the team found evidence that implicated senior officials at the state-run airline Garuda and, more explosively, at the State Intelligence Agency.
Unfortunately, the report was never made public, despite a provision in the Presidential Decree that created the team, which states, “It is the government that will subsequently announce the results of the team’s investigation to the public.” Many of its findings have been reported in the media.
The trial of Pollycarpus opened on August 9 with the reading of the indictment. The indictment never mentions the fact-finding team, or the intelligence agency linked to Pollycarpus through phone records uncovered by the team. By omitting this crucial information, police investigators and prosecutors are demonstrating a reluctance to implicate high-level officials. The omission also significantly weakens the case against Pollycarpus. The defense has already seized on the unlikelihood that the defendant would have the ability, or the motive, to commit such a complex political murder alone.
“The failure to even mention the intelligence agency in the indictment of Pollycarpus speaks volumes,” said Hicks. “There is still a crying need for an effective investigation and prosecution, wherever it may lead.”
Human Rights First supports the recommendations of the fact-finding team to create a new body with a stronger mandate and the full-backing of the president. The new body must have the authority to investigate the complicity of the intelligence agency and to ensure that the disappointing police investigation and prosecution will not be the last word.
Munir’s Work
Munir came to prominence as an outspoken critic of the military in the chaotic years surrounding President Suharto’s fall from power in 1998. Munir and the organizations he helped to build went on to play an important role in many of the major human rights issues in the country, combining fearless advocacy and meticulous research.
Munir worked in various positions at the Legal Aid Foundation before founding the Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (Komisi untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Kekerasan, or Kontras) in 1998. Kontras played an important role in the struggle for accountability after the disappearance of pro-democracy activists during the transition from authoritarian rule. The organization was also at the forefront of human rights investigations into state violence in East Timor, Ambon, and Aceh.
He also served on the Commission to Investigate Human Rights Violations in East Timor after the violence there in 1999. Munir played an important role in uncovering evidence of military responsibility for the violence and recommending action against high-ranking officers.
As a result of his work Munir was a frequent target of threats and violence. Besides numerous death threats, Munir’s home had been attacked with a bomb and the Kontras office was attacked by thugs twice in early 2003 after the organization criticized the military. In the months before his death he had been a vocal critic of the intelligence agency’s efforts to increase its power through a new law, which is still pending.
