JAKARTA, Indonesia: A new investigation into the death of
Indonesia's most prominent human rights activist indicates he was
poisoned at Singapore's airport before boarding a plane to the
Netherlands, a top detective said Friday.
Munir Said bin Thalib, who exposed abuses by the Indonesian army
during Suharto's dictatorship, began feeling ill about 40 minutes
into the Sept. 7, 2004 Garuda Indonesia flight and his condition
quickly deteriorated.
He died two hours before landing at Amsterdam's Schipol
International Airport.
Prosecutors earlier claimed the 38-year-old was poisoned on a
Jakarta-Singapore flight, the first leg of his journey, but chief
detective Bambang Hendarso Danuri said Friday new evidence
indicated it happened later.
"We are now sure Munir was poisoned (while transiting) at Changi
airport," he said, noting that forensic experts in Seattle,
Washington said the arsenic in his body "was the S-3 type, which
reacts 30 to 60 minutes after intake."
There was no immediate comment from the Singapore government.
The probe into Thalib's death is seen as a test of how much
Indonesia has changed since the days of Suharto, who ruled the
country with an iron fist for 32 years until democracy riots forced
him to resign in 1998.
Last year, the Supreme Court cleared the sole suspect, off-duty
pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto, of murder charges, citing insufficient
evidence. He was accused on lacing Thalib's inflight orange juice
or noodles, a claim he denied.
The investigation was reopened amid public pressure and authorities
last week charged Indra Setiawan, the former head of national
airline Garuda, and flight operations officer Rohainil Aini, of
helping commit premeditated murder.
Several other suspects also will face trial based on questioning of
the two, including the person who allegedly poisoned Thalib and
those who withheld information about the murder from police, said
national police spokesman Sisno Adiwinoto.
He refused to give their names or say if they had been
arrested.
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http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/20/asia/AS-GEN-Indonesia-Poisoned-Activist.php
