Indonesian spy freed over killing

The verdict provoked whistles of joy and roars of anger in court

An Indonesian court has acquitted a retired deputy intelligence chief of ordering the murder of a leading human rights campaigner.

Muchdi Purwopranjono was cleared of all charges by a panel of judges.

Prominent campaigner Munir Said Thalib died of arsenic poisoning while on a flight to the Netherlands in 2004.

He had exposed the kidnapping of 13 activists by special forces under Mr Purwopranjono's command in 1997 and 1998, under the former ruler Suharto.

Munir's widow, Suciwati, told reporters outside the court she would respect the ruling but did not believe the case was over yet.

Mr Purwopranjono's earlier conviction had been taken by Indonesian rights activists as a sign of growing maturity in the country's notoriously corrupt judiciary.

Not enough evidence

A pilot on the flight on which Munir died has already been jailed for assassinating him.

Profile: Munir Thalib Trial leaves unanswered questions

Pollycarpus Priyanto, was sentenced to 20 years in jail in January, and Indra Setiawan, the former CEO of Garuda Airlines, also received a year in jail for being an accessory.

But Munir's widow and his former colleagues have long claimed that the country's top spies were the real masterminds behind his murder.

Mr Purwopranjono made history when he first appeared in court four months ago - the most senior member of Indonesia's feared intelligence agency ever to be brought to trial.

But the BBC correspondent in Jakarta, Lucy Williamson, says the trial was marked by problems for the prosecution, including witnesses who refused to appear or changed their statements - prompting allegations of intimidation.

Mr Purwopranjono had always denied charges that he paid a pilot to assassinate Mr Munir, and in the end there simply was not enough evidence, the judge said, to prove convincingly that he had ordered the murder.

"He should be removed from detention immediately," the judge said.

Our correspondent says the judge had barely begun speaking the first key words of the verdict when the courtroom erupted with whistles of joy and shouts of "God is Great", mingled with a growing roar of anger.