The New York Times-20080126-Indonesia- Conviction In Poisoning of Rights Lawyer- -Brief-
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Indonesia: Conviction In Poisoning of Rights Lawyer; [Brief]
In a high-profile case that had become a test of the judiciary's independence, the Supreme Court convicted a former airline pilot for the 2004 arsenic poisoning of Munir Said Thalib, the country's leading human rights lawyer, aboard a commercial flight to the Netherlands and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. The ruling cannot be appealed, and the conviction of the pilot, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, opened the way for a deeper look into official involvement in the killing. Maj. Gen. Sisno Adiwinoto, the country's chief police spokesman, said secret service agents would be investigated for the first time in connection with the murder. Mr. Munir had investigated abuses by the Indonesian military and the police, including kidnappings and killings of political dissidents.
