On 17 September 2026, officers of the Jayapura District Police reportedly detained six political activists, including a 17-year old minor, affiliated with the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) at Old Sentani Market (Pasar Lama Sentani) in Jayapura Regency, Papua Province. They were transported to the Jayapura District Police Station in Doyo Baru and released after almost two hours in police custody.
According to the information received, members of the KNPB Sentani Weya Sector had gathered at Old Sentani Market on the evening of 17 September to conduct a coffee bazaar. At approximately 07:10 pm, police personnel reportedly arrived on three motorcycles and in one patrol vehicle. Officers then apprehended the six KNPB members and transported them to the Jayapura District Police Station in Doyo Baru (see video below, source: independent HRD). Witnesses and those affected reportedly received no explanation at the place of arrest concerning the suspected criminal offense or other legal grounds for taking the men into custody. Representatives of churches and lawyers subsequently engaged with the police in an effort to secure their release. At approximately 9:00 pm, all six were released without criminal charges (see photo on top, source: independent HRD).
Human rights and legal analysis
The case information raise concerns under Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protects every person against arbitrary arrest or detention and requires anyone who is arrested to be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for the deprivation of liberty. Indonesia ratified the ICCPR through Law No. 12 of 2005. The UN Human Rights Committee has clarified that arbitrariness extends beyond formal unlawfulness and includes considerations of necessity, proportionality, predictability and due process. It has further emphasised that the protection of Article 9 applies from the moment a person is apprehended and is not dependent upon the duration of detention. Accordingly, the fact that the six men were released after less than two hours does not in itself remove the need for the authorities to demonstrate that their apprehension had a lawful, necessary and non-arbitrary basis.
The reported circumstances also require examination under Indonesia's new Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), Law No. 20 of 2025, which entered into force on 2 January 2026 and replaced Law No. 8 of 1981. Article 94 provides that arrest must be based on a minimum of two items of evidence. Under Article 95, police carrying out an arrest must show their official assignment order and provide the suspect with an arrest warrant identifying the person concerned, the reason for arrest, a brief description of the suspected criminal offence and the place where the suspect will be examined. Arrest without such an order is permitted in a caught-in-the-act situation. If the six KNPB members were neither apprehended while committing an offence nor provided with the procedural safeguards required by Articles 94 and 95, their arrests may have been incompatible with Indonesian criminal procedure as well as Article 9 ICCPR.
The apparent connection between the arrests and the victims' membership in the KNPB additionally raises questions concerning the rights to freedom of expression and association under Articles 19 and 22 ICCPR. Where collective activities also constitute a peaceful assembly, Article 21 ICCPR is engaged. International human rights standards require restrictions on peaceful collective activity to have a clear legal basis and to satisfy strict requirements of necessity and proportionality. The Human Rights Committee has stressed that authorities should not restrict peaceful assemblies merely on the basis of the identity of participants or their relationship with the authorities. Membership of an organisation or participation in its peaceful activities, without evidence of individual criminal conduct, cannot by itself provide an adequate basis for arbitrary deprivation of liberty.
Particular concern arises from the arrest of SM, aged 17, who is legally a child under Indonesian law. Indonesia's Child Protection Law defines a child as every person below the age of 18. Law No. 11 of 2012 on the Juvenile Criminal Justice System further requires the arrest of a child to be carried out humanely and with due regard to the child's age and particular needs. International standards likewise require additional safeguards when children are deprived of their liberty, including prompt notification of parents, guardians or legal representatives of the arrest and its reasons.
Detailed case data
Document ID: HRM-CAS-123-2026
Location: Sentani Kota, Sentani, Jayapura Regency, Papua, Indonesia (-2.5685926, 140.5238784) Pasar Lama Sentani
Region: Indonesia > Papua > Jayapura Regency > Sentani
Total number of victims: 6
1. SM, male 17 Activist, Indigenous Peoples arbitrary detention
2. Mendanus Wisal, male 22 Activist, Indigenous Peoples arbitrary detention
3. Yulianus Wisal, male 20 Activist, Indigenous Peoples arbitrary detention
4. Yusak Wisal, male 20 Activist, Indigenous Peoples arbitrary detention
5. Ipenua Kwem, male 24 Activist, Indigenous Peoples arbitrary detention
6. Agus Deal, male 19 Activist, Indigenous Peoples arbitrary detention
Period of incident: 17/09/2026-17/09/2026
Perpetrator: Republic Indonesia > Indonesian Security Forces > Indonesian Police > POLRES
Perpetrator details: Polres Jayapura
Issues: indigenous peoples