Stephen Fitzpatrick; 3/1/09
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono faces a political crisis unless he quickly addresses outrage over the acquittal of a senior former spy on murder charges, activists say. Retired major-general Muchdi Purwopranjono, a former deputy head of Indonesia’s national intelligence agency, walked free this week after judges in a Jakarta court said they could not find him guilty of masterminding the poisoning death of human rights lawyer Munir Said Thalib. Dr Yudhoyono reacted to anger at the decision by announcing he would ask Attorney-General Hendarman Supandji and chief of police Bambang Hendarso Danuri to explain how an apparently strong case had collapsed. Leading human rights activist Usman Hamid, a close friend of the murdered man and his successor as head of rights organisation Kontras, the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence, said the verdict “clearly undermines Yudhoyono’s credibility”.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24865706-2703,00.html
Tags: Human Rights, Indonesia