On 15 August 2026, Indonesian police and military personnel forcibly dispersed demonstrations organised by the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) together with students in Pos 7, Sentani, Jayapura Regency, and Perumnas III Waena, Waena Expo, Uncen Atas and the Abepura area in Jayapura City, Papua Province.
Human rights defenders documented at least 15 injured protesters (see table below). The documented violations included alleged shootings with rubber projectiles and a slingshot (see video below, source: independent HRD), beatings with rattan canes and police batons, and the forcible dispersal of peaceful assemblies. Mr Frengky Kabak, Vice-President of the Cenderawasih University Student Executive Board (BEM Uncen), sustained a serious injury to his left calf after reportedly being struck by a rubber bullet.
The demonstrations formed part of a KNPB-organised national protest marking the 64th anniversary of the New York Agreement of 15 August 1962 and were held under the theme "West Papua: A Military and Humanitarian Emergency Zone". Similar as in other towns across West Papua where the peaceful protests were held without police interference, the KNPB representatives had submitted notification letters to the authorities before the demonstrations. In Sentani, demonstrators from several gathering points sought to march towards the Jayapura Regent's Office or the Jayapura Regency Parliament but were blocked by joint security forces. At Pos 7, witnesses reported that police and Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel ordered students to disperse within approximately ten seconds before pushing back protesters with water cannons and striking participants with rattan canes.
In Jayapura City, students began marching from the Uncen Atas area in Waena at approximately 08:00 am towards Perumnas III but were blocked by police personnel. KNPB organisers made repeated attempts to negotiate permission to proceed towards the Abepura Roundabout. Following failed negotiations, tensions escalated. Police used tear gas and water cannon, while some demonstrators reportedly threw stones and other objects at officers. During the ensuing clashes, protesters reported that police also fired projectiles. Police subsequently maintained high police presence around Perumnas III and other protest locations.
Human rights defenders documented 15 named victims, including three persons reported as suffering injuries consistent with being struck by projectiles: Mr Frengky Kabak sustained a serious wound to his left calf. Mr Nai Wasini reportedly sustained an injury to his knee from a rubber bullet. Mr Yosep Degei was reportedly struck in the abdomen (see photos below, source: independent HRD). The Jayapura City Police denied that officers had fired at demonstrators, maintaining that crowd-control measures had been limited to tear gas and water cannon. Police also reported that seven officers had been hospitalised following the clashes and stated that officers had been injured by stones, collisions and trampling.
The scale of the security deployments raises additional concerns regarding the policing approach adopted towards the demonstrations. Jayapura City Police Chief Senior Commissioner Fredrickus W.A. Maclarimboen stated that approximately 1,560 security personnel had been deployed across protest locations in Jayapura City. In Jayapura Regency, Police Chief AKBP Donisius V.D.P. Helan confirmed that approximately 750 joint personnel, including members of the Indonesian National Police (Polri), Brimob, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), the District Military Command, Infantry Battalions 751 and 810, the Indonesian Air Force and the Civil Service Police Unit, had been mobilised. By contrast, demonstrations marking the same anniversary reportedly proceeded without violence in Jayawijaya Regency, Nabire Regency and Mimika Regency, where local police commanders were said to have facilitated communication with organisers and allowed demonstrators greater space to exercise their rights peacefully.
Human rights analysis
The obstruction and forcible dispersal of the demonstrations raise serious concerns under the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, protected by Articles 19 and 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Indonesia is a State Party. These rights are also protected under Article 28E(3) of the Indonesian Constitution, Articles 23 and 25 of Law No. 39 of 1999 on Human Rights, and Law No. 9 of 1998 on Freedom to Express Opinions in Public. Indonesian law establishes a notification system for demonstrations rather than a general requirement for prior governmental authorisation. Under Article 13 of Law No. 9 of 1998, once the police receive notification they are required, inter alia, to coordinate with organisers and the institution targeted by the demonstration, prepare security arrangements for the location and route, and protect participants. The reports that organisers had submitted notification letters therefore require particular scrutiny when assessing the authorities' subsequent decision to prevent protesters from following their announced routes.
Restrictions on peaceful assemblies must pursue a legitimate objective and meet the requirements of legality, necessity and proportionality. The authorities cited traffic congestion, disruption to public activities and security concerns as reasons for preventing demonstrators from conducting their proposed long marches. Such considerations may justify narrowly tailored measures in particular circumstances, but they do not automatically justify preventing an assembly from reaching its intended audience or forcibly dispersing participants. International human rights standards require authorities, as far as reasonably possible, to facilitate peaceful assemblies within "sight and sound" of their intended target. Moreover, isolated acts of violence by individual participants do not by themselves remove the peaceful character of an entire assembly. Law enforcement authorities must distinguish between persons engaged in violence and peaceful participants and must seek to de-escalate tensions before resorting to force.
The reported use of rubber or other impact projectiles, tear gas, water cannon and batons must further be assessed against the principles of necessity, proportionality, precaution and accountability governing law-enforcement use of force. Less-lethal weapons are not inherently harmless. Impact projectiles may cause serious injury and should not be fired indiscriminately into crowds or used merely to disperse persons who pose no imminent threat. Similarly, tear gas should not be used as a punitive measure or in circumstances where people cannot safely disperse. Where beatings or other deliberate infliction of severe physical or mental suffering cannot be justified as strictly necessary law-enforcement measures, such conduct may also engage Article 7 ICCPR and Indonesia's obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).
Table of protesters injured during police crackdown in Jayapura on 15 August 2026 (see original document)
Detailed case data
Document ID: HRM-CAS-116-2026
Location: Jayapura, Jayapura City, Papua, Indonesia (-2.5916025, 140.6689995) Sentani and Waena
Regions:
Indonesia > Papua > Jayapura Regency > Sentani
Indonesia > Papua > Jayapura > Heram
Total number of victims: 15
1. Frengky Kabak, male 25 Activist, Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
2. Yosia Balyo, male 23 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
3. Nai Wasini, male 22 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
4. Yosep Degei, male 24 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
5. Alex Ugiba, male 22 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
6. Gilbem Wenda, male 25 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
7. Woki Sasaka, male 21 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
8. Serdun Siktaop, male 23 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
9. Yosep Kasipdana, male 24 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
10. Nasrani Alya, male 22 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
11. Hosea Kadepa, male 20 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
12. Enakila Degey, female 25 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
13. Andreas Tebai, male 22 Indigenous Peoples ill-treatment
14. Nikmen Butu, male 25 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
15. Yefoti Wandik, male 18 Indigenous Peoples, Student ill-treatment
Period of incident: 15/08/2026-15/08/2026
Perpetrator: Republic Indonesia > Indonesian Security Forces > Indonesian Police > POLRES
Issues: indigenous peoples, security force violence
Sources: Suara Papua, Greenleft.org, Jubi