Print

Mail

wiki links

Indonesian air officials arrested for murder

Indonesian police have arrested two officials from Garuda Indonesia airlines for their alleged roles in the murder of a prominent human rights campaigner who was poisoned on a flight to Amsterdam in 2004, local media reports said yesterday.

The two, identified as Indra Setiawan, ex-Garuda president director, and Rohainil Aini, the secretary to Garuda's Airbus chief pilot, were charged late on Saturday afternoon after hours of questioning at national police headquarters.

"We have enough evidence to arrest the two suspects," national police spokesman Sisno Adiwinoto was quoted as saying by Media Indonesia daily newspaper.

Munir Said Thalib, cofounder of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence, died aboard a flight to Amsterdam on Garuda, the country's national flag carrier, in September 2004 after his juice was laced with arsenic.

Munir, 38, was a prominent critic of the Indonesian security forces, blamed for thousands of deaths and the disappearances of scores of activists during ex-dictator Suharto's 32-year regime. His work in uncovering atrocities earned him many enemies.

National police chief General Sutanto said last week that both Setiawan and Aini had played roles in issuing an assignment letter to Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto that allowed him to travel on Munir's flight.

Pollycarpus, who was proven to have links to Indonesia's intelligence agency, was convicted and jailed for 14 years for serving Munir the arsenic-laced juice, but the Supreme Court inexplicably overturned his conviction last year.
This story has been viewed 1222 times.