Military personnel reportedly detained Mr Melkias Hagismijau, 25, and Mr Pius Emani, 27, during an overnight military operation in Eknemba Village, Sugapa District, Intan Jaya Regency, Central Papua Province, beginning around midnight on 8 September 2026. Both were reportedly detained at the Eknemba TNI Outpost until local residents and community representatives intervened. They were released on the morning of 9 September and allowed to return home.
According to the information received by local sources, Indonesian military personnel conducted an operation in the Sugapa area during the night of 8 September. Local sources state the operation continued into the morning of 9 September 2026. During the operation, soldiers apprehended Mr Melkias Hagismijau, a 25-year-old resident of Eknemba Village, and Mr Pius Emani, aged 27, from Sawenepa Village. Both men were taken to the Eknemba TNI Outpost. After learning of their detention, residents of Eknemba Village, accompanied by local community representatives and intellectuals, approached the commander of the military post and entered into negotiations concerning their release. The two civilians were subsequently released in the morning of 9 September 2026 without criminal charges (see photo pon top, source: independent HRD).
The incident occurred only several days after another case of civilian detention by Indonesian military personnel in Sugapa District. On 5 September 2026, personnel reportedly belonging to Infantry Battalion 509/Kostrad detained five indigenous Papuans near a TNI post in Sugapa. The five civilians were reportedly accused of involvement with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB). Their families and other residents subsequently gathered outside the military post and demanded their release. After approximately 24 hours of questioning, all five men were released after the authorities reportedly failed to establish evidence substantiating the allegations against them.
Human rights analysis
The deprivation of liberty of Mr Hagismijau and Mr Emani engages Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a State Party. Article 9 protects every person against arbitrary arrest and detention and requires any deprivation of liberty to have a clear legal basis following procedures established by law. The UN Human Rights Committee has emphasised that arbitrariness extends beyond formal illegality and includes considerations of inappropriateness, injustice, unpredictability, lack of due process, necessity and proportionality. Importantly, even detention lasting only a few hours constitutes a deprivation of liberty for the purposes of Article 9; there is no minimum duration before these safeguards become applicable.
The case also raises questions concerning compliance with Indonesia's domestic criminal procedural safeguards. Law No. 20 of 2025 on the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) has been in force since 2 January 2026 and replaced the former Law No. 8 of 1981. Under Articles 93-96 of the new KUHAP, arrest is regulated as a coercive criminal-procedure measure. The law provides that arrests are conducted by authorised investigators or, in specified circumstances, other legally empowered investigators; an arrest must generally be based on at least two items of evidence. Investigators must present their assignment documentation and provide an arrest warrant identifying the suspect, the reason for arrest, the alleged offence and the place of examination, except in cases of arrest in flagrante delicto. The ordinary maximum duration of an arrest is 1 x 24 hours, unless another law provides otherwise.
On the information presently available, there is no indication that Mr Hagismijau or Mr Emani were apprehended pursuant to an arrest warrant, informed of a specific criminal allegation, presented with the evidence forming the basis of their arrest, or detained under the authority of a competent criminal investigator. The fact that a military security operation was being conducted in Intan Jaya Regency does not in itself remove the procedural safeguards protecting civilians against arbitrary deprivation of liberty. While the amended TNI Law, Law No. 3 of 2025, permits military operations other than war for specified purposes, including responding to armed separatist movements, such provisions cannot be interpreted as removing the statutory safeguards governing deprivation of liberty under Indonesian criminal procedure or Indonesia's obligations under international human rights law.
The recurrence of short-term civilian detentions during military operations is particularly concerning in the context of Intan Jaya Regency, where military personnel operate amongst civilian communities affected by the continuing armed conflict. The detention of Mr Hagismijau and Mr Emani only days after a similar incident raises concern over an emerging pattern in which civilians are apprehended by military personnel during security operations. Security forces must distinguish between persons directly participating in armed activities and the civilian population. Family relationships, ethnicity, political opinion or unsubstantiated allegations of association with an armed group do not provide sufficient grounds for deprivation of liberty. Any security-related arrest must be individualised, based on law and evidence, and accompanied by effective procedural safeguards.
Detailed case data
Document ID: HRM-CAS-122-2026
Location: 726J+5QG, Bilogai, Sugapa, Intan Jaya Regency, Central Papua 98768, Indonesia (-3.7395623, 137.0319626) Eknemba Village
Region: Indonesia > Central Papua > Intan Jaya > Sugapa
Total number of victims: 2
1. Melkias Hagismijau, male 25 Indigenous Peoples arbitrary detention
2. Pius Emani, male 27 Indigenous Peoples arbitrary detention
Period of incident: 08/09/2026-09/09/2026
Perpetrator: Republic Indonesia > Indonesian Security Forces > Indonesian Military (TNI)
Issues: indigenous peoples