Munir Said Thalib (December 8, 1965 – September 7, 2004), affectionally known simply as 'Munir', is Indonesia's most famous Human Rights and anti-corruption activist. The founder of the Kontras human rights organisation and laureate of the Right Livelihood Award, Munir was assassinated in 2004 while travelling to Utrecht University to pursue a doctorate in international law and human rights.
Early political activist career
Educated in law at Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, Munir started his career in 1989 as a legal aid officier in the capital of East Java, Surabaya.
Assassination and aftermath
Munir was poisoned with arsenic on flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam on September 7, 2004. He was travelling on state-owned airline Garuda Indonesia.
When the results of the autopsy were released two months later, on November 12, (the Netherlands Forensic Institute ) revealed that Munir's body contained a level of Arsenic almost three times that needed to kill a person. This was later confirmed by Indonesian police. No-one has yet been convicted over Munir's death, although it is rumoured that he had many enemies in government.
One of the first people charged over the incident was Garuda employee Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto . It is alleged that he placed the Arsenic in Munir's orange juice, upon orders from Garuda's chief executive. Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has proclaimed that he will make sure that Munir's killers are brought to justice.
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