Indonesian deputy spy chief on trial
Updated
A former deputy chief of Indonesian intelligence is on trial for the murder of a rights activist who had challenged abuses by the military-led Suharto regime.
Muchdi Purwopranjono is expected to be charged with the premeditated murder of Munir Said Thalib, who died from arsenic poisoning on a flight from Singapore to Amsterdam in 2004.
It is the first time a high-ranking figure in the military establishment is facing court and the proceedings are being closely watched as a test of Indonesia's post-Suharto reform movement.
Human rights groups have long accused the intelligence agency of involvement in Munir's murder.
Earlier this year, former Garuda Indonesia pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto was jailed 20 years for poisoning Munir, while Garuda's ex-boss Indra Setiawan was jailed for one year as an accomplice.
