Munir

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Birthplace: Malang, East Java
Birth: Deceber 8, 1965
Died: September 7, 2004 (age 38)
Wife: Suciwati
Children: Sultan Alif Allende and Diva

 Munir Said Thalib SH, known as Munir, was an Indonesian human right activist.His last position was Executive Director of the Lembaga Pemantau Hak Asasi Manusia Indonesia Imparsial (Institute of Indonesia Imparsial Human Rights Watch). 

While serving as coordinator for Kontras (Komisi untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Tindak Kekerasan = Commission for Missing People and Victims of Violence), his name soared as a fighter for missing persons who were kidnapped. He defended the activists who are victims of kidnappings from the Special Forces Mawar (Rose) team. After Soeharto's fall, the kidnapping was the reason for removal Danjen Kopassus Prabowo Subianto and trial for mawar team members.


September 6, 2004, Munir went to Amsterdam (Netherlands) to continue his master's program at the University of Utrecht, Netherlands. Munir biardsed Garuda Indonesia's GA-974 to Singapore for transit and then fly to Amsterdam. Three hours after the planes take off from Singapore, Munir was reported ill. Munir seat was moved to the side of a passenger who happened to work as a doctor who was also trying to help him. Two hours before landing September 7 2004, 8:10 pm Amsterdam time at Amsterdam Schipol airport, Munir found already dead.

On 12 November 2004, it reported that the Dutch Forensic Institute found traces of arsenic compounds after the autopsy. This is also confirmed by the Indonesian police. Yet known who had poisoned Munir, although some suspect that certain unscrupulous elements, really want to get rid of him.

On December 20, 2005 Pollycarpus Priyanto, a Garuda pilot, sentenced 14 years imprisonment for the murder of Munir. The judge stated that Pollycarpus, who was on leave, putting arsenic in Munir's food, because he wanted to silence government critics. On June 19, 2008, Maj. Gen. (ret) Muchdi Pr, who also happened to someone close to Prabowo Subianto and Vice Chairman of Gerindra Party, was arrested with a strong suspicion that he was the mastermind of the murder of Munir. But on December 31, 2008, Muchdi controversially acquitted.

Until now, the Munir murder case still leaves great unresolved mysteries.

Below information wasw taken from Kontras.org

ORGANIZATIONAL EXPERIENCES

• Chairman of the Students Senate Faculty of Law, University of Brawijaya Malang, 1988
• Region IV Area Coordinator Indonesian Law Student Association, 1989
• Member Student Study Forum for the Development of Reasoning, University of Brawijaya Malang 1997
• Secretary Law Student Representation Board, Faculty of Law University of Brawijaya, 1988
• Secretary of Al-Irsyad Malang regency, 1988
• Member of Islamic Students Organization
• Legal Division, Commission for Solidarity for Marsinah (KASUM). Kasum is a committee established by tens of NGOs, which provided advocation support to the investigation of the killing by the military apparatus of the Labour Activists Mars. The committee conducted various activities to push for changes and to stop military intervention in Labour disputes.
• Coordinator of the Solidarity Committee for Workers (KSUB) Surabaya (1994). KSUB is a committee established by seven (7) NGOs, the develop and education program for the empowerment of Workers and to campaign for changes in the wage poliby for the Workers.
• Member of the National presidium of the independent General Election Monitoring Commission, 1997-2000.
• Member of the Advisory Board of KOMPAK (Committee of the Students Against Violence), a committee established by students elements who were struggling against violence and militarism (1997-to date).
• Member of the Board Advisors of Formasi (Forum of All Indonesian Syariah Students). This is an Islamic students organization struggling for the anti violence movement and based on the strength of the teachings of Islam (1999-to date).
• Founder and Coordinator of KIPP HAM (Independent Monitoring Commission for Human Rights Violations) in 1996. The KIPP HAM is a networking organization of various NGOs and Mass Organizations to carry out monitoring and advocation on the cases of state of violence and horizontal conflicts. In March 1998 this organization was changed in to the Commission for Disappearing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS).
• Member of the Commission of Inquiry in to Human Rights Violations in East Timor and independent commission established by the Indonesian Human Rights Commission to conduct a legal inquiry in to of the human rights violations in East Timor during, before and after the ballot 1999.
• Member of the Team for the preparation of the Draft Act on Human rights Tribunal, 2000.
• Member of the team for the Draft Act on the Truth and reconciliation Commission, 2000.

FUNCTIONS/CAREER AT THE LBH

• Volunteer LBH Surabaya, 1989.
• Chairman LBH Surabaya Malang Post, 1991.
• Coordinator of labour Division and Civil and Political Division of LBH Surabaya, 1992-1993.
• Head of Operational Field, LBH Surabaya, 1993-1995.
• Director of LBH Semarang, 1996.
• Secretary Operational Field of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), 1996.
• Vice Chairman Board of Management YLBHI Operational Field, 1997-2001.
• Coordinator Working Committee for Disappearances Victims of Violence (KontraS), 1998.
• Chairman Board of Management KontraS, 2000-to date.
• Member Advisory Counsil for Komisi Kebenaran dan Rekonsiliasi Timor Leste (Commissao de Acolhimento, Verdade e Reconcilicao de Timor Leste (CAVR)), 2003.
• Executive Director of Imparsial (The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor), 2002-2004.

AWARDS RECEIVED

• As Leader for the Millennium by Asia Week, 2000.
• Man of the Year 1988 from UMMAT magazine.
• One Hundred Prominent Indonesians of the XXth Century, Forum Keadilan Magazine.
• Awarded the Golden Pins as a successful alumnus 1999 from the University of Brawijaya.
• The Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prizes) untuk promosi HAM dan control sipil atas militer, Stockholm, December 2000.
• An Honourable Mention of the 2000 UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence,Paris, November 2000.
• Columnist : has written various articles on politics, law and human rights in the framework of promoting democratization and the anti violence movement.

CASES HANDLED

• Legal Counsel and Investigation team member in the case of Fernando Araujo Cs. In Denpasar. He was accuses of plotting a revolt against the government to separate East Timor from Indonesia, 1992.
• Legal Counsel in the case of Jose Antonio de Jesus Dasneves (Samalarua) in Malang, 1994, with the accusation of revolt against the government to separate East Timor from Indonesia, 1994.
• Legal Counsel for Marsinah's family and a number of laborers of PT. CPS to indict KODAM V Brawijaya for their acts of violence and murder of Marsinah, the labor activist, 1994.
• Legal Counsel for the people of Nippah, Madura, in the case of demanding the accountability of military for killing the Nippah farmers in Madura, East Java, 1993.
• Legal Counsel for Sri Bintang Pamungkas (General Chairman of PUDI) in the case of criminal act of Subversion and the lawsuit at the administrative court (PTUN) for his dismissal as LecturerinJakarta, 1997.
• Legal Counsel for Muchtar Pakpahan (General Chairman of SBSI) in the case of the criminal act of Subversion, Jakarta, 1997.
• Legal Counsel for Dita Indah Sari, Kun Chusen Pontoh , Sholeh (Chairman of PPBI and member of PRD) in the case of Criminal act of Subversion, Surabaya, 1996.
• Legal Counsel for students and farmers in Pasuruan, in the case of the riots at PT. Chief Samsung, the accusation was the criminal acts of instigation, 1995.
• Legal Counsel of 22 workers of PT. Maspion, in the case of Strike in Sidoarjo, East Java, 1993.
• Legal Counsel for DR George Yunus Adicondro (Lecturer Styawacana Christian University, Salatiga) in the case of Insulting the government, Yogyakarta,1994.
• Legal Counsel for Muhadi (the driver who was accused of shooting a policeman following a slash between the police and Units of The Air Force ) in Madura, East Java, 1994.
• Legal Counsel for in the case of disappearances of 24 political activists and students in Jakarta, 1997 through 1998.
• Legal Counsel for in the case the massacre of the member of the community in Tanjung Priok 1984, since 1998.
• Legal Counsel for in the case of the shooting of the students in Semanggi tragedy I and II, 1998 and 1999.
• Member Commission of Inquiry for Human Rights Violations in East Timor, 1999.
• Founder and inisiator of the Foundation for Peace and reconsiliation (Lerai) which is handling the horizontal conflicts (Maluku, etc)
• Legal Counsel and Coordinator for the advocation of human rights violation cases in Aceh, West Papua, through KontraS (thousands of cases resulting from the military operations)
• Various cases of human rights violations in isues concerning Labor, Land, Environment and Civil and Political Rights.