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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Central Jakarta district court on Monday sentenced former Garuda Indonesia president director Indra Setiawan to one year in jail for assisting the premeditated murder of human rights activist Munir.

"The suspect was sentenced to one year`s imprisonment minus his detention period," Heru Pramono, who presided over the panel of judges, said.

The judge said as the then president director of the national flag carrier, Indra must perform his duties in a smart, meaningful and intellectual way.

The suspect never checked with the National Intelligence Board (BIN) about its letter of request to put off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto on the flight from Jakarta to Singapore as a security agent, he said.

What`s more, Indra did not discuss Pollycarpus` assignment with the pilot and co-pilot of the Amsterdam-bound Garuda plane. This meant that the suspect knew Pollycarpus` assignment through the letter, the judge said.

In addition, as the then president director of Garuda Indonesia, the suspect must know intelligence mission through the letter. As a result of his misdeeds, the airline company`s image had been tarnished in the eyes of its service users, he said.

After all, the panel of judges said the suspect had fallen victim to a high-profile conspiracy because he was on different path.

"On one hand, he has committed a criminal offence by assisting a murder, while on the other he has fallen victim to a high-profile conspiracy," the judge said.

Indra told the press following the court session that he was not guilty and would appeal against the verdict.

The Supreme Court judges who reviewed the Munir murder case sentenced Pollycarpus to 20 years` imprisonment last month.

Supreme Court Spokesman for Legal and Public Relations Nurhadi said Polcycarpus was found guilty of the premeditated murder of Munir and for forging an assignment letter.

Originally, Pollycarpus was sentenced to 14 years in jail for his involvement in Munir`s murder but this sentence was overturned in a Supreme Court appeal trial in June last year.

In that trial the Supreme Court decided Pollycarpus was not involved in the premeditated murder of the human rights activist and cut the suspect`s sentence to two and half years for falsifying documents in order to be on Munir`s Garuda flight and later exchange seats with him.

The Supreme Court`s verdict last year annulled the Central Jakarta District Court`s and the Jakarta High Court`s decisions to jail Pollycarpus for 14 years for his involvement in Munir`s murder.

Police reopened the investigation into his murder amid public and political pressure after the court overturned the conviction of Pollycarpus.

Munir died after being poisoned aboard a Garuda flight to the Netherlands in September 2004.(*)

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