Seven years after Munir Said Thalib was found dead on a Garuda flight on Sept. 7, 2004, the state has ridiculed and embarrassed itself by treating his case as mystery — his death, the motives, the conspiracy and other aspects of the tragedy.

A leading figure at the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), former elite Army Kopassus unit commander Maj. Gen. (ret.) Muchdi Purwoprandjono, was among the key suspects in Munir’s poisoning, but two years ago he was acquitted by a Jakarta court.

Fundamentally, formal justice is one thing, but in the public sense it is another. Seven years on, the gap between the legal process and public anger about what is perceived as justice in Munir’s case has only grown bigger.

Even the President, who declared the investigation into Munir death “a test case of history”, seems to have lost the spirit to revive his promise. Years have...