Indonesia, West Papua – On 10 May 2025, Mr Ortizan F. Tarage, a civilian resident of Sorong City, was apprehended without explanation by three officers of the Sorong City Police (Polresta Sorong Kota) while fishing behind the Diklat Complex on Jalan Pendidikan, Kilometer 8.
According to testimony gathered by the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) Papua Pos Sorong, Mr Tarage was taken away in an unmarked vehicle later identified as belonging to the police, and subsequently subjected to severe physical violence during police detention. The torture involved beatings with wood, bamboo, iron bars, iron padlocks, and hoses in an effort to coerce a confession to motorcycle thefts he did not commit. Mr Tarage sustained serious injuries to his face, calves, thighs, shoulders, and hands (see photo on top, source: LBH Sorong). The treatment Mr Tarage endured constitutes torture as defined under international law, and represents a grave violation of the absolute and non-derogable prohibition against torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Despite a formal police report (LP/B/341/V/2025/SPKT/Polresta Sorong Kota/Polda Papua Barat) having been filed on 22 May 2025, no suspects have been named and the investigation has shown no meaningful progress in the nine months since the incident. The alleged perpetrators reportedly remain on active duty at the Sorong City Police headquarters, free to continue their professional activities without restriction. The Legal Aid Institute in Sorong has characterised this prolonged inaction as emblematic of institutional impunity. The stagnation is compounded by the reported failure of the Sorong City Police Chief to respond to two separate letters from the Indonesian National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM RI) Representative Office in Papua requesting information about the case, raising serious concerns about obstruction and a lack of institutional willingness to cooperate with independent oversight mechanisms.
The torture of Mr Tarage and the subsequent failure of accountability violate a broad framework of domestic and international legal obligations binding on Indonesia. These include Article 28G(2) of the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees freedom from torture; Law No. 39/1999 on Human Rights; Law No. 5/1998 concerning ratification of the Convention against Torture (CAT); and Law No. 12 of 2005 on ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The case also contravenes the National Police's own internal regulations, including National Police Regulation No. 8/2009 and No. 8/2021. Under international human rights law, states are obligated not only to refrain from torture but to ensure prompt, impartial, and effective investigation of all allegations, to hold perpetrators accountable, and to provide victims with access to redress and reparation. The prolonged absence of any investigative progress in this case represents a failure on all of these counts.
On 14 February 2026, LBH Papua Pos Sorong formally filed a complaint with the Internal Affairs Division (Propam) of the West Papua Regional Police, urging the Regional Police Chief to impose disciplinary sanctions on the officers involved and to initiate a professional criminal investigation. LBH has further called upon Komnas HAM RI to conduct an independent inquiry into the case. The family of Mr Tarage continues to demand justice and has expressed grave concern that the police apparatus may be actively shielding the perpetrators from accountability.