TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Australians, Canadian held on human trafficking allegations

Police in Merak, Banten province, have arrested two Australians and one Canadian on charges of human trafficking

Dicky Christanto (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, January 28, 2010

Share This Article

Change Size

Australians, Canadian held on human trafficking allegations

Police in Merak, Banten province, have arrested two Australians and one Canadian on charges of human trafficking.

National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi identified the Australians as Sarah Nathan and Pamela Poor and the Canadian only as Jessica.

They were arrested on Tuesday, reportedly  posing as humanitarian activists helping asylum seekers stranded in Indonesia, he said.

“We have preliminary evidence they were involved in human trafficking activities,” Ito told The Jakarta Post. “We need to question them for more information.”

He added he had not yet received a complete report about the arrest.

Local media reported on Wednesday that the foreigners were activists with the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC).

They are currently being detained at the Merak Police station.

Indonesian activists have criticized the arrest, saying the police did not have sufficient evidence to arrest the foreigners.  

Mahendra, a local labor activist, said the women had come to Indonesia to monitor how Indonesia has handled the 200 or so Sri Lankan boat people stranded in Merak for three months on a boat designed to comfortably accommodate 50 people.

“They did not know why they were being arrested because the police officers did not have any arrest warrants,” Mahendra said as quoted by detik.com on Tuesday.

On the boat, which only has one toilet, the asylum seekers survive on government rations that are far from adequate.    

Many of the boat people suffer from various diseases including rashes and diarrhea. Indonesia is holding dozens of boat people from Afganistan, Pakistan and Myanmar elsewhere in the country.

Mahendra said the foreign activists were arrested at Indah Kiat Port near the boat where the Australia-bound Tamil boat people were being held by Indonesian authorities.

The Indonesian government has cooperated with Australia in the handling of asylum seekers.

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.