ID :
19787
Tue, 09/16/2008 - 19:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/19787
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SLAIN RIGHT ACTIVIST MUNIR'S WIFE TESTIFIES IN MUCHDI'S TRIAL
Jakarta, Sept 16 (ANTARA) - The wife of slain human rights activist Munir, Suciwati, appeared as a witness in a Central Jakarta Court session trying former BIN (State Intelligence Agency) deputy chief Muchdi Pr for involvement in Munir's murder here Tuesday.
Suciwati said in her testimony that after her husband was killed , she went to the United States at the invitation of Human Rights First in New York and then to Europe after being invited by the European Parliament.
She said the foreign organizations she met in those countries, including the Human Rights Commission, supported her efforts to obtain justice.
"In New York, I was received by Makarim Wibisono, an Indonesian national at the UN Headquarters," she said.
Earlier, in an exception, Muchdi had said there was foreign intervention in his trial as evident from a letter the US Congress had sent to the Indonesian government about the Munir case.
But Suciwati said, a week before Munir was murdered on his way to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, he told her that a BIN official dealing with Information Technology (IT), Biza Subiyakto, wanted to meet him to talk about democracy.
"My husband agreed to meet the BIN man but also wondered why someone dealing with IT wanted to talk about democracy," Suciwati said.
Meanwhile, another witness, former Garuda Indonesia president director Indra Setiawan, admitted he once received a letter from BIN requesting the assignment of Garuda pilot Pollycarpus as a corporate security officer to a Garuda flight to Amsterdam.
"I got a letter from BIN asking me to involve Pollycarpus as a corporate security officer in a flight to Amsterdam," Setiawan said.
Pollycarpus is currently serving a 20-year jail sentence meted out by the Supreme Court which found him guilty of perpetrating Munir's murder by putting arsenic in the latter's drink during a Garuda flight to Amsterdam via Singapore in September 2004.
Tuesday's court session was also attended by two rival groups of people : Munir and Muchdi sympathizers. Tight security precautions taken by the court, however, forced the two groups to keep their sentiments to themselves, and there was no friction or clash between them.
The panel of judges trying Muchdi Pr for involvement in Munir's murder at a session last Tuesday rejected his argument that the charges against him were baseless.
"The defense statement is not acceptable because the charges are valid according to the law and therefore the trials must continue," chief judge Suharto said at the session to rule the validity of the trial.
The judges also stated the court had the authority to try the case in accordance with the location of the crime.
Suciwati said in her testimony that after her husband was killed , she went to the United States at the invitation of Human Rights First in New York and then to Europe after being invited by the European Parliament.
She said the foreign organizations she met in those countries, including the Human Rights Commission, supported her efforts to obtain justice.
"In New York, I was received by Makarim Wibisono, an Indonesian national at the UN Headquarters," she said.
Earlier, in an exception, Muchdi had said there was foreign intervention in his trial as evident from a letter the US Congress had sent to the Indonesian government about the Munir case.
But Suciwati said, a week before Munir was murdered on his way to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, he told her that a BIN official dealing with Information Technology (IT), Biza Subiyakto, wanted to meet him to talk about democracy.
"My husband agreed to meet the BIN man but also wondered why someone dealing with IT wanted to talk about democracy," Suciwati said.
Meanwhile, another witness, former Garuda Indonesia president director Indra Setiawan, admitted he once received a letter from BIN requesting the assignment of Garuda pilot Pollycarpus as a corporate security officer to a Garuda flight to Amsterdam.
"I got a letter from BIN asking me to involve Pollycarpus as a corporate security officer in a flight to Amsterdam," Setiawan said.
Pollycarpus is currently serving a 20-year jail sentence meted out by the Supreme Court which found him guilty of perpetrating Munir's murder by putting arsenic in the latter's drink during a Garuda flight to Amsterdam via Singapore in September 2004.
Tuesday's court session was also attended by two rival groups of people : Munir and Muchdi sympathizers. Tight security precautions taken by the court, however, forced the two groups to keep their sentiments to themselves, and there was no friction or clash between them.
The panel of judges trying Muchdi Pr for involvement in Munir's murder at a session last Tuesday rejected his argument that the charges against him were baseless.
"The defense statement is not acceptable because the charges are valid according to the law and therefore the trials must continue," chief judge Suharto said at the session to rule the validity of the trial.
The judges also stated the court had the authority to try the case in accordance with the location of the crime.
