Munir Case: Police Asked to Reveal Pollycarpus-Muchdi Recording

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - To commemorate the 14th anniversary of the assassination of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Choirul Anam said that a voice recording related to the case could be used by the police to rightfully resolve the murder case.

The recording Choirul referred to is the phone conversation between Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto, a convicted murderer in the case, and former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) deputy V Muchdi PR.

“There is one crucial document, which is the voice recording that has never been presented in court. That should have been [the police’s] main focus,” said Choirul in Jakarta, Thursday, September 6.

According to him, the phone recording was mentioned 41 times in court but the content was never revealed. 

Read: Pollycarpus and the Mastermind of Munir`s Death

Choirul claimed that this piece of evidence could have easily solved the case for police investigators. “That is something that exists within the police institution itself, not anywhere else, so it should have been easy since the police would not have to start from scratch,” he said.

However, Komnas HAM says it appreciates National Police chief Tito Karnavian's decision to reopen the case and will await the police's committment to solving the case.

Exactly 14 years ago on September 7, 2004, human rights activist Munir was murdered while on flight to the Netherlands. Forensic reports suggested the human rights activist died of arsenic poisoning. The court sentenced Pollycarpus to 14 years behind bars, while Muchdi PR was acquitted of all charges by the South Jakarta District Court in 2008.

ANTARA