JAKARTA - A FORMER deputy chief of Indonesian intelligence went on trial on Thursday over the murder of a celebrated rights activist who had challenged abuses by the military-led Suharto regime.

It marks the first time a high-ranking figure in the military establishment will face justice over the murder of Munir Said Thalib, who died from arsenic poisoning on a flight from Singapore to Amsterdam in 2004.

Former State Intelligence Agency deputy chief Muchdi Purwopranjono is expected to be charged with premeditated murder, which is punishable by death.

The proceedings are being closely watched as a test of Indonesia's post-Suharto reform movement.

Defence lawyers have already said they are afraid their client will not receive a fair trial.

'My client isn't afraid of anything but a biased and unfair trial due to pressures from many parties, including from the international community', lawyer Achmad Cholid was quoted as saying in The Jakarta Post.

Mr Munir, who died aged 38, was the leader of independent rights watchdog Kontras and a vocal campaigner for victims of military abuses under the 1966-1998 Suharto dictatorship.

Muchdi has been in custody since he turned himself in to police on June 19 in Jakarta. He has denied the allegations but has yet to enter a plea in court.

Human rights groups have long accused the intelligence agency of involvement in the murder and activists say Muchdi's arrest is a victory in the struggle against military impunity.

Former Garuda Indonesia pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto was jailed for 20 years earlier this year for poisoning the activist, while Garuda's ex-boss Indra Setiawan was also jailed for one year as an accomplice. -- AFP