Iqbal Fadil, Jakarta – Suspicions by the Munir Fact Finding Team (TPF) that the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) was involved in the Munir case have been proven correct following the leaking of a claim by the former Garuda executive director Indra Setiawan about the existence of a recommendation letter from BIN.

“The letter indicates that Polly[carpus] is a BIN agent”, said the former deputy chairperson of the Munir TPF, Asmara Nababan, at the Four Seasons Hotel on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Monday August 13.

Nababan explained that the TPF had found irregularities when Setiawan assigned Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto as an aviation security staff member who was given access to the flight without being a pilot.

Nababan said that the first suspicious thing was that Pollycarpus was directly assigned by Setiawan in his capacity as executive director, whereas Pollycarpus was usually given assignments by the director of personnel. “But the TPF was unable to find the written letter from BIN pertaining to the request because were not given access to see BIN documents”, he said.

At the time he continued, the TPF was only able to conclude that there were “strong forces” that dictated Setiawan to assign Pollycarpus. “We suspected it was BIN, but we did not have written evidence”, he said in an outburst of emotion.

Nababan said that Setiawan’s claims confirm that there was a close relationship between Pollycarpus and BIN. “The letter confirms that Polly was a BIN agent. So Munir’s murder was a conspiracy”, said Nababan.

Nababan is optimistic that the judicial review being presented by the national police will be successful. “Providing that the judges don’t look at the judicial review from a formal legalistic view, but consider the new evidence being presented”, said the former secretary general of the National Human Rights Commission. (aan/umi)

[Translated by James Balowski.]