Munir Said Thalib

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Munir Said Thalib, a few days before his death, seated third from the left

Munir Said Thalib (born December 8, 1965 in Malang , Indonesia , † September 7, 2004 murdered on the flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam), known as Munir , was an Indonesian human rights and anti- corruption activist. He was honored with the Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize) in 2000 . Munir was poisoned on a flight from Indonesia to the Netherlands .

Political career

Munir studied law at the Brawijaya University in Malang , East Java . Even as a student he was committed to upholding human rights in his country. After completing his studies, he worked from 1989 at the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (Yayasan Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Indonesia, YLBHI) in the capital of East Java, Surabaya . In the 1990s he represented victims of state violence and repression and became chairman of the YLBHI.

Munir gained public fame towards the end of the Suharto era. In 1998 he founded the human rights organization Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Contras). He criticized the Indonesian military for the actions in East Timor and Aceh and accused them of involvement in illegal timber and drug trafficking. From September 1999 Munir was a member of a state commission to officially investigate human rights violations in East Timor. The report of this commission forced six senior officers to resign in the spring of 2000, including the commander in chief of the armed forces, Wiranto . Also, the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR), which the United Nations was used and East Timor, Munir was a member of the Advisory Panel.

Munir has been honored with numerous international awards and received the Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize) in 2000.

assassination

Munir was poisoned on a flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam on September 7, 2004. He traveled with the state airline Garuda Indonesia . The autopsy by the Dutch Forensic Institute two months later revealed that Munir had received a triple lethal dose of arsenic . This result was confirmed by the Indonesian police.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to see that Munir's killers would be convicted. Three suspects were later arrested and the main suspect, former pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto , was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He had poisoned Munir's orange juice during the flight. Two stewardesses are said to have been involved in the act. Munir's supporters assume that Priyanto was in close contact with the secret service and acted on instructions. These allegations were not investigated during the Priyanto trial.

Munir is the second recipient of the Alternative Nobel Prize after Ken Saro-Wiwa , who was murdered for his work.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Monika Schlicher: East Timor faces its past , missio-hilft.de , accessed on January 28, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Munir Said Thalib
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Munir
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indonesian human rights and anti-corruption activist
DATE OF BIRTH December 8, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Malang , Indonesia
DATE OF DEATH September 7, 2004
Place of death on the flight from Singapore to Amsterdam