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Suspect arrested over Indonesian activist's murder
 Indonesian police say they have arrested a new suspect in the murder of a leading human rights activist, who died of poisoning on a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam. Activist Munir died in the business-class cabin of a flight by national carrier Garuda Indonesian September last year. A Dutch autopsy found a lethal dose of arsenic in his body. Munir's case is seen as a test of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's commitment to the rule of law. The head of the police team investigating the case, Brigadier General Marsudhi Hanafi, said the new suspect, Ery Bunyamin, was a late booking on the same flight and travelled using a forged and expired passport. "He was the 15th passenger in the business class and was not listed in the flight manifest. He took the flight at the last minute," Brig Gen Hanafi told reporters. He said the addresses in Bunyamin's two passports were also fictitious. Brig Gen Hanafi said Bunyamin left the plane hurriedly as it made a stop-over in Singapore, his destination. When asked what he did in Singapore, he told investigators he was "shopping for t-shirts and perfume," Brig Gen Hanafi said. Bunyamin's lawyer Amir Syamsuddin said his client was a high-profile lawyer and had been arrested because he used a dubious passport. "It would be laughable if investigators are trying to link him to the murder case simply because he was on the same flight as Munir," Mr Syamsuddin told AFP. He said that in 2000 Bunyamin applied for a passport in Jakarta using a fake identity card to avoid the hassle of going back to his home town on Bangka island off Sumatra. The practice is common among people who live and work in Jakarta but are not residents of the capital. Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto, who was travelling off duty on the same flight as Munir, went on trial on Tuesday as a key suspect in the murder. Two cabin crew members have been detained as suspects but have not been indicted. Prosecutors said poisoned orange juice served during the flight was used to kill the activist and described Priyanto as a staunch nationalist who saw Munir as "a hindrance to the implementation of the Government's programs". Independent investigators have said the case showed signs of involvement by the state intelligence agency. The pilot has also been accused by human rights activists of being an intelligence agent. Posted by: Fred 2005-08-14 |
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