COURT ACQUITS MUCHDI PR OF MUNIR MURDER CHARGE

Jakarta, Dec. 31 (ANTARA) - The South Jakarta District Court here on Wednesday acquitted Muchdi Pr, a former senior BIN (National Intelligence Agency) official, from the charge of murdering Munir, a noted human rights activist.

"Hereby, we declare Muchdi Pr as legally and convincingly not proven guilty of the charges," presiding Judge Soeharto said here on Wednesday.
The prosecution had previously charged Muchdi Pr based on Article 55, point 1, the second of the Criminal Code (KUHP) in lieu of Article 340 KUP, and Article 55, point 1, the first of KUHP in lieu of Article 340 of KUHP.
"The defendant must be acquitted from all of the primary charges," the judge said.
Munir Said Thalib died of arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight to Amsterdam in 2004.
On December 2, government prosecutors formally sought a 15-year jail sentence for Muchdi, 59, a former deputy head of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN).
Munir's widow, Suciwati, said she was deeply hurt by the court verdict.
She told reporters outside the court that she would respect the ruling but expected prosecutors to file an appeal to a higher court.