On 17 July 2025, two Papuan students, Mr Oknis Faluk and Mr Higit Pahabol, were arbitrarily arrested by plain clothes police officers upon disembarking at Jayapura Port, Papua Province.
The arrest took place without prior explanation or a warrant. Both students were searched and interrogated at the port security post regarding their alleged association with a third individual arrested on the same boat for allegedly carrying ammunition. Despite no evidence connecting the students to the suspect, they were forcibly taken to the Papua Regional Police Headquarters and held in the Criminal Investigation Division. They were released on 18 July 2025 with instructions to report to police authorities periodically.
On 16 July 2025, Mr Oknis Faluk and Mr Higit Pahabol boarded a ship from Biak bound for Jayapura. Upon their arrival at Jayapura Port on the morning of 17 July 2025, at approximately 10:00 am, the students were apprehended by approximately ten individuals dressed in civilian clothing, reportedly affiliated with the Papua Provincial Police. Mr Faluk and Mr Pahabol were immediately separated and brought to the port security post, where they were subjected to physical searches and interrogated about their alleged relationship with the suspect, who was simultaneously arrested on suspicion of carrying ammunition.
Mr Faluk and Mr Pahabol explained that they had only exchanged greetings with the suspect during the boat trip and were not otherwise acquainted with him. Despite the absence of any evidence linking them to the ammunition or the suspect, the two students were transferred around 1:00 pm to the Papua Police Headquarters, where further interrogations took place. On 18 July 2025, at 1:36 PM local time, both students were released after a legal representative from the police reviewed the case and confirmed that there was no basis for prosecution. Nonetheless, they were instructed to report regularly to the Papua Police Headquarters.
The incident is emblematic of the broader trend of stigmatisation of indigenous Papuans that requires urgent attention from national oversight bodies and international human rights mechanisms.
Human rights analysis
The arbitrary arrest and short-term detention of Mr Oknis Faluk and Mr Higit Pahabol constitute a violation of their rights to liberty and security of person, enshrined in Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a State party. The arrest was conducted without a warrant, probable cause, or immediate legal justification, failing the standards of lawful arrest. The conditions of their detention and the lack of transparency surrounding their arrest raise serious concerns about racial profiling, the criminalisation of Papuan youth, and collective suspicion targeting indigenous Papuans under the pretext of security operations.