TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim) said the police required new evidence to look deeper into the murder case of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib.

“The continuity of Munir’s case [will depend on] the police’s new evidence. It will be continued if the police are in possession of the evidence,” said Bareskrim chief Comr. General Arief Sulistyanto at the National Police headquarters on Friday, September 7.

Arief admitted that Munir’s assassination case was not dropped entirely considering that it could still be developed. He claimed that police investigators must base their actions on legal facts secured through official police investigation.

Read: Munir Case: Police Asked to Reveal Pollycarpus-Muchdi Recording

He said the police had taken significant steps since 2004 by processing four case files and suspects, one of which had served a full prison sentence.

Arief added the police could not solely base their investigation on the findings of Munir’s fact finding team (TPF) and present them as evidence. “We are also looking for new evidence, this must be understood,” he said.

Today, September 7, marks the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Munir while on flight to the Netherlands. Forensic reports suggested the human rights activist died of arsenic poisoning. The court sentenced former Garuda pilot Pollycarpus to 14 years behind bars, while Muchdi PR was acquitted of all charges by the South Jakarta District Court in 2008.

TAUFIQ SIDDIQ