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15 named suspects in Papua hostage case
Papua Police have named 15 people as suspects of an arson attack on a Susi Air plane and the subsequent kidnapping of its New Zealander Pilot, all linked to a Papuan separatist group.
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Egianus Kogoya, a West Papuan rebel commander, sits on a captured plane piloted by New Zealand national Phillip Mehrtens in Papua Highlands province in this undated picture released on Feb. 14. (Reuters/West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB))
P
apua Police have named 15 people as suspects in an arson attack on a Susi Air plane and the subsequent kidnapping of its New Zealander Pilot, all linked to a Papuan separatist group.
Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo said all the suspects were currently at large and were connected to the Free Papua Movement (OPM).
“The 15 people are part of the armed rebel group led by Egianus Kogoya,” Benny told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Susi Air pilot Phillip Mark Mehrtens has been held hostage by the armed rebel group since Feb. 7 after landing at an airport in the remote district of Paro, Nduga regency in the newly formed Papua Highlands province. The group burned the Susi Air aircraft and captured several Indonesian passengers, who were later released.
They demanded Jakarta recognize Papuan independence in return for Mehrtens’ release and have used the ongoing hostage crisis as a way to internationalize its political cause.
Papua general criminal directorate chief Sr. Comr. Faizal Ramdhani said police had gathered testimonies from at least five witnesses and investigated videos that were previously published by the West Papua National Liberation Army’s (TPNPB) OPM spokesperson Sebby Sembom.
The case was previously handled by the Nduga Police before being recently handed over to the Papua Police where it will be forwarded to the Damai Cartenz task force, which was assigned to maintain public order and security using a preventive approach in Papua.
