The experts include Clement Nyaletsossi Voule from Togo, special rapporteur on the right to peaceful assembly and association; David Kaye from the US, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Dubravka Šimonović from Croatia, special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences; Meskerem Geset Techane from Ethiopia, chair of the working group on discrimination against women and girls; and Michel Forst from France, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.

Veronica, who is also a lawyer for the National Committee for West Papua (KNPB), has regularly tweeted videos of marches and rallies in various cities and regions since protests first broke out in Papua and West Papua on Aug. 19.

Because of the internet blackout for the country's easternmost provinces from Aug. 21, her tweets have been one of the only sources of information from the restive region.

By Sept. 4 internet access had been recovered and the UN experts commented: “access to the internet contributes to preventing disinformation and ensuring transparency and accountability”.

The East Java Police have named Veronica among the suspects of causing unrest in Papua for allegedly provoking people to riot via her social media updates. She was charged under several articles of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, Law No. 1/1946 on misinformation, Article 160 of the Criminal Code, as well as Law No. 40/2008 on the eradication of racial and ethnic discrimination. 

The UN experts said the Indonesian government must protect the rights of all to peaceful protest, open access to the internet and protect the rights of Veronica Koman and others reporting on protests in Papua and West Papua.

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