Kontras urges police to focus on Pollycarpus’ phone contacts with BIN

Detik.com – February 7, 2007
Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto (Kompas)
Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto (Kompas)

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) is calling on the police not to distract the investigation into the murder of human rights activist Munir by focusing on an autopsy of Munir’s organs. The police should press forward and investigate who the principle perpetrator or intellectual actor of the murder was by investigating the contents of the phone conversations between Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto and Muchdi Purwopranjono.

“The focus of the national police after cooperating with the FBI should be to investigate in more detail the question of who the principle perpetrator of Munir’s murder was through existing communication channels, both between Pollycarpus and a number of officials at BIN [the National Intelligence Agency] and the institution of BIN itself,” said Kontras coordinator Usman Hamid at his office on Jl. Borobudur in the Menteng area of Central Jakarta on Tuesday February 6.

According to Hamid, investigating the cause of Munir’s death is no longer relevant, including identifying samples of his organs, because this has already been done. “Although this is the authority of the national police, it is no longer relevant. Whether or not there is an autopsy, the national police are obliged to investigate communication channels between Pollycarpus and people at BIN”, he explained.

Hamid said he hopes that the police will have the courage to question Muchdi and officials from BIN including with regard to the communication channels that existed between Pollycarpus and BIN officials. If they do not have the courage, no new evidence will be uncovered to finally solve Munir’s murder. “If this is not done, we doubt that the steps being taken by the national police will discover novum (new evidence)”, he asserted.

As has been reported, some time ago the national police said they plan to conduct another autopsy of Munir’s body organs. Prior to this, police will exhume Munir’s body on the grounds that there was request for from the FBI. (zal/aba)

[Translated by James Balowski.]