Garuda fined for negligence over activist's death

JAKARTA: An Indonesian court has found national carrier Garuda and one of its pilots guilty of negligence in the death of a leading rights campaigner, in a civil case filed by the widow of Munir Thalib.

Thalib, known for his critical views on the military, was poisoned when he was on his way to the Netherlands for postgraduate studies in 2004.

In October, the Supreme Court overturned a guilty verdict on off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto in the murder case, saying there was not enough evidence and no witness.

The acquittal put pressure on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who had vowed to get to the bottom of the case when he took office in late 2004.

The chief judge hearing the civil case against Garuda and its pilot said on Thursday that the pilot of flight GA 974 failed to take necessary action when Munir was very sick before he died on the way to Amsterdam following a transit at Singapore's Changi airport.

"According to international flight regulations, in the event of an emergency involving a passenger, the pilot must consult a purser or doctor on the ground and if necessary land at the nearest airport," judge Andriani Nurdin said.

The court ordered Garuda and the pilot to pay a fine of 664,029,900 rupiah ($73,180). The lawsuit filed in October had sought $1.4 million.

Garuda's former president director, Indra Setiawan, and another senior airline official have been arrested in connection with the issuing of a fake document that allowed Priyanto to be on board under the pretense of a security assignment.

A district level court had sentenced Priyanto to 14 years' jail in December 2005 and an appellate court upheld the finding he put arsenic in food served to Munir.

However, the Supreme Court ruled there was not enough evidence and no witness to support the case.

Police say they have found new evidence that Munir was poisoned at Singapore's Changi during the transit.

Munir was an outspoken critic of the military and its methods in quashing dissent and separatists in hotspots such as Aceh and Papua provinces.

A Garuda Indonesia pilot himself, Priyanto had said he was on an assignment supervising security on the Jakarta-Singapore leg of Munir's flight.

He gave his business-class seat to Munir during that leg.

Human rights groups say the government has not pressed the investigation or Priyanto's possible ties to others hard enough.

Washington has also urged Jakarta not to let the case slide.