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Convicted Munir murderer Pollycarpus officially free man
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Protesters wear masks of the face of late human rights defender Munir during the weekly Kamisan silent protest in front of the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Sept. 7, 2017. (The Jakarta Post/Ibrahim Irsyad)
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onvicted murderer of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, was finally declared a free man from the Class I Bandung Correctional Center in West Java on Wednesday morning after finishing his parole.
The former Garuda Indonesia pilot came with his wife, Yosepha Hera Iswandari, to the correctional center on Wednesday morning to report for the last time and take care of the administration regarding the end of his sentence. After about 20 minutes, he came out of the prison officially a free man.
“I feel like I no longer have any burden now,” he told journalists, adding that he had been serving his sentence without having a clue about why he was convicted of Munir’s murder.
Polycarpus was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2005 for his role in the death of the prominent human rights campaigner during a flight from Jakarta to Singapore on Sept. 6, 2004. He was granted parole by the government in 2014.
When asked whether he wanted to meet with Munir’s widow, Suciwati, he revealed that he was open to the idea.
“I’m ready [if I have to meet Suciwati], but what does she need from me? Suddenly we’re all related,” he answered.
However, out of his 14-year sentence, Pollycarpus only served eight years in Sukamiskin Penitentiary in Bandung and was released on parole in November 2014.
There has been mounting pressure from the public and rights activists for law enforcement to prosecute the mastermind, as despite Pollycarpus being sentenced, it remains unclear who masterminded the murder. Activists have also called on the government to establish a new fact-finding team to investigate individuals allegedly involved in the murder, who many believe to be important people, as alleged in a 2005 investigative document by the murder case's fact-finding team. (ris)
