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View all search resultsRights group call for probe into alleged extrajudicial killing in Nduga
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Soldiers take part in a ceremony before travelling to Papua for deployment in security operations, at Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Force base in Blang Bintang, Aceh, on Dec. 12, 2023. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
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mid reports of increased military activity in Nduga regency, Highland Papua, following the release of a New Zealand pilot from rebel captivity, rights groups said that Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel have committed an extrajudicial killing of a Papuan civilian, an accusation the military has denied.
On Friday, the Papua Justice and Welfare Foundation (YKKMP), supported by a coalition of civil society organizations including Amnesty International Indonesia, reported the alleged killing of 27-year-old Abral Wandikbo to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM).
YKKMP head Theo Yegerem previously told The Jakarta Post that Abral was a resident of Waredobobem village in Mebarok district, Nduga.
Nduga was a regency where New Zealand pilot Phillip Mertens was kept for 19 months in captivity by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM), before his release in September last year.
According to YKKMP’s investigation and testimony from a Waredobobem resident, Abral spent his days caring for his ailing father and had no known ties to any separatist groups. He was arrested by the TNI on March 22 and taken to a military base for questioning on suspicion of links to the TPNPB.
After his arrest, Abral’s family and several villagers visited the military base to assert his innocence. A soldier reportedly showed them two photos and a video from Facebook in an apparent attempt to link Abral to separatist movements.
The soldier reportedly said Abral would be interrogated and released the next day. But when the villagers returned on March 23, they were told he had escaped while being transported to Kwit village, also in Mebarok.
