Former Inmate In Munir's Death Case, Pollycarpus Died At RSPP Due To COVID-19

Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto. (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto, who is a former convict in the murder case of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, has died. This news was confirmed by the Secretary General of the Berkarya Party Badaruddin Andi Picunang.

"Yes, died of illness at RSPP today," said Andi when contacted by VOI , Saturday, October 17.

He said Pollycarpus died in the hospital at around 15.00 WIB. He said that his last communication with Pollycarpus was around September and last met last August.

In line with Andi, Pollycarpus 'former lawyer, Wirawan Adnan, also confirmed that his former client had died and received news from Pollycarpus' wife, Yosephine Hera Iswandari. According to him, Polly died of COVID-19 and had received treatment for 16 days.

"Died after 16 days of battling COVID-18. I received news from his wife, Hera," he said.

It is known that Pollycarpus was a former pilot of the Garuda Indonesia airline who was sentenced to 14 years in prison because he was found guilty in the murder case of Munir on September 7, 2004 after filing a judicial review (PK). After getting his sentence cut, he was released in August 2017.

His involvement in the Munir murder case began when Pollycarpus, who was still a Garuda Indonesia pilot, boarded the same plane as Munir headed to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He even had time to exchange seats with the human rights activist and had several interactions at Changi Airport.

During the trip, Munir later died of arsenic poisoning, which was allegedly included in the orange juice drink he consumed.

Even so, Polly still insisted he was innocent and felt he was a scapegoat in the murder case. Furthermore, after his release he reportedly joined the Berkarya Party, which was chaired by Hutomo Mandala Putra or Tommy Soeharto.

Today, Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto, who was proven to have killed human rights activist Munir Said Thalib in 2004, was released from detention.

Based on the results of the fact-finding team on the case of Munir's death, findings indicate that Pollycarpus was not the sole perpetrator. pic.twitter.com/w5q1iNT0No

- Amnesty International Indonesia (@amnestyindo) August 29, 2018