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Muchdi's acquittal: A question of a broken promise
It is not surprising that Maj
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It is not surprising that Maj. Gen. (ret) Muchdi Purwopranjono, a former deputy to the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief, was eventually acquitted of all charges laid against him in connection with the September 2004 murder of rights activist Munir Said Thalib.
Legally speaking, we cannot criticize the South Jakarta District Court judges for acquitting Muchdi, as all the evidence presented in court was weak, and the key witnesses who initially testified against Muchdi eventually withdrew their testimonies over legal technicalities.
What is evident from Muchdi's acquittal is the failure of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government, if not of the President himself, to fulfill the government's and his own promise to Munir's widow, Suciwati, to close the case -- that is, to discover the executor(s) and the mastermind behind Munir's murder.
The court's decision, handed down on Wednesday, displayed Yudhoyono's inability to exercise his power as president -- not to influence the judges on the verdict, but to ensure that the investigation to build the case against Muchdi was conducted thoroughly and transparently.
Public doubts about the seriousness of Yudhoyono's and his government's commitment to uncovering the truth behind the murder started to arise because of the President's unshaken stance against revealing the results of the investigation carried out by the government-sanctioned fact-finding team (TPF).
It remains unclear whether the TPF report was used by the police as the foundation for building the case against Muchdi and the other defendants; none of the leading and key officers at BIN believed to have known about the case were questioned.
Even a key witness, BIN agent Budi Santoso, failed to appear in court to testify. Budi had alleged Muchdi's involvement in the murder in his written statement read out during the previous, separate, trial of Garuda Indonesia pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto -- another defendant in the murder case.
The courts found Pollycarpus and former Garuda president Indra Setiawan guilty, sentencing them to 20 years' and 12 months' imprisonment, respectively, for their roles in the murder.
Munir died from arsenic poisoning aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight from Singapore to Amsterdam, on Sept. 7, 2004. Pollycarpus was found guilty of administering the poison.
In his testimony, Budi said that, on Muchdi's orders, he gave Pollycarpus Rp 10 million (US$1,075) on June 14, 2004, and another Rp 3-4 million for unknown purposes when Pollycarpus was under investigation in connection with Munir's murder.
It was, among other things, the prosecutors' failure to have Budi Santoso testify in court and to provide substantial evidence to prove the allegations against Muchdi that meant the judges eventually acquitted the former chief of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) of all charges.
Muchdi is now a free man. And unless the prosecutors can find new evidence to build a new case against him, he will be a free man forever.
Muchdi's acquittal has therefore led to uncertainty as to whether the full details of the murder will ever emerge, as it is widely believed that neither Pollycarpus nor Indra Setiawan was the central figure behind Munir's murder.
The name of another senior BIN officer was mentioned during the trials of both Pollycarpus and Muchdi -- then deputy BIN chief M. As'ad. But should a case be built against As'ad in the future, it will very likely end up the same way as the one against Muchdi, as there is unlikely to be any substantial evidence that can be used against As'ad.
The remaining question will only be about Yudhoyono's and his government's commitment to protecting human rights, especially the promise he made to Munir's widow.
Muchdi's acquittal could prove an obstacle to Yudhoyono's bid for reelection. The incumbent has won praise, locally and internationally, for his government's anti-corruption campaign. He has also taken the credit for twice lowering the price of fuel, even though this was more due to the decreasing price of oil globally. But he could lose some support from human rights activists and justice seekers, as a repercussion of Muchdi's release.
Yudhoyono must therefore refresh his commitment to human rights protection, making solving the Munir murder case the chief priority. Otherwise, he could lose public trust and might have to forget his dream of serving another term.
