The Indonesian authorities should drop all charges against and immediately free 22 peaceful Papua activists who were detained during mass unrest in the country's eastern provinces in August, a prominent human rights watchdog said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th November, 2019) The Indonesian authorities should drop all charges against and immediately free 22 peaceful Papua activists who were detained during mass unrest in the country's eastern provinces in August, a prominent human rights watchdog said on Thursday.In August and September, anti-discrimination riots sparked in Papua and West Papua after several Papuan students were detained for reportedly damaging an Indonesian flag during Independence Day celebrations in the city of Surabaya. The violent clashes with the police that followed resulted in casualties and mass arrests.
"Papua may be a sensitive topic in Indonesia, but that's no excuse for rounding people up and sending them to prison for peaceful acts of expression," Elaine Pearson, Australian Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), said, as quoted in the press release, adding that the authorities should free the activists and drop all charges against them.
Of the 20 men and 2 women detain, most are awaiting trial for treason and, under the Indonesia's Penal Code, could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison for mobilizing others to commit treason.
The easternmost Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua have been mired in conflict since 1962, with local separatists struggling for independence and accusing Jakarta of religious and racial discrimination against the Papuan minority.
