Indonesian Activist Munir Murder Files Could Have Been Deliberately Buried

Public information commissioners ruled earlier this week that the State Secretariat should declassify files related to the murder of prominent human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, nearly 11 years after they were submitted by the fact-finding team to former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Investigation documents related to the murder of prominent human rights defender Munir Said Thalib had apparently gone missing, the public learned on Monday (10/10), as the State Secretariat claimed it does not possess or know the whereabouts of the fact-finding team's files.

A former member of that fact-finding team said this could indicate either poor state administration or that someone had deliberately tried to bury the files.

Public information commissioners ruled earlier this week that the State Secretariat should declassify files related to the case, nearly 11 years after they were submitted by the fact-finding team to former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The secretariat has announced it does not have the documents, or know their whereabouts.

Former fact-finding team member Hendardi insisted that President Yudhoyono received the documents from the team in 2005, a year after the investigation was closed.

"It's on the public record that the results of the investigation were submitted by the team to the president. The government's response shows poor state administration," Hendardi said in a statement released on Friday.

President Joko Widodo has ordered his staff to locate the documents, while human rights activists have demanded clarification from the government over the missing files.

"If it is not due to poor administration, it can be alleged that the documents have been intentionally removed by those who do not want to see this case resolved," Hendardi added.

Activists have long urged the government to find Munir's real killer.

Munir was poisoned with arsenic during a layover in Singapore in September 2004, before boarding a flight to Amsterdam.

Former pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto was sentenced to 14 years in prison for premeditated murder. However, the masterminds behind Munir's murder remain unknown, while the investigation results have never been disclosed to the public.