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Political activist escaped abduction attempt

Amnesty International Urgent Action - September 27, 2016

UA: 218/16 Index: ASA 21/4893/2016 Indonesia Date: 27 September 2016

On 24 September, men in plain clothes attempted to abduct Papuan political activist Agustinus Aud at his home in Sorong, West Papua Province. He has been very active organising peaceful demonstrations to criticise Indonesian policies in Papua.

On 24 September at around 3am, the house of Agustinus Aud, the spokesperson of KNPB's (the West Papuan National Committee) Sorong branch, was surrounded by at least 10 plain clothed men whose faces were covered with scarves and claimed to be police officers. They banged on his door and windows, shouting orders for him to come out. After some of the men had smashed some parts of his window, Agustinus Aud saw that two of the men were armed with rifles. He refused to come out and managed to make a phone call to his friends asking them to immediately come to his house. Agustinus Aud thought that he would be abducted and later be killed as happened to Martinus Yohame, another KNPB Sorong member, in August 2014.

At 4am, six of Agustinus Aud's friends arrived at his house and saw that there were at least 10 men with guns and rifles near his house with a minibus and three motorcycles. As soon as they arrived, the men left. In the last few months, Agustinus Aud had organised many press conferences and peaceful demonstrations to support a peaceful Papuan pro-independence umbrella group, the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) to be accepted as a full member of Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), a sub-Pacific intergovernmental organization. He has also raised concern about many human rights violations committed by the security forces in Papua.

The attempt to abduct Agustinus Aud highlights the unsafe environment faced by political activists in the Indonesian province of Papua and the ongoing impunity for human rights violations by security forces.

Please write immediately in English, Indonesian or your own language:

  • Urging the Indonesian and local authorities in Papua to implement immediate and effective measures to ensure the safety, personal security and wellbeing of Agustinus Aud, in accordance with his wishes;
  • Calling on the authorities to order a full and impartial investigation into the attempted abduction and other threats against Agustinus Aud, publish the results and bring those responsible to justice in fair trials;
  • Urging the Indonesian authorities to ensure people in the country's Papuan region are able to freely express their ideas and opinions without fear of punishment, reprisal or intimidation.
Please send appeals before 8 November 2016 to:

Head of National Police
General Tito Karnavian
National Police Headquarters
Jl. Trunojoyo No. 3, Kebayoran Baru Jakarta Selatan 12110
Indonesia
Fax: +62 (0)21 7200 669/721 8741 Email: mabes@polri.go.id Salutation: Dear General

Chief of Presidential Staff Office (KSP) Teten Masduki
Gedung Bina Graha
Jl. Veteran No. 16
Jakart Pusat 10110 Indonesia
Fax: +62 (0)21 345 0009 Email: webmaster@ksp.go.id

And copies to:

Chairperson National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) Imdadun Rahmat
Jl. Latuharhary No. 4B, Menteng Jakarta Pusat 10310
Indonesia
Fax: +62 (0)21 392 9227
Email: info@komnasham.go.id Twitter: @komnasham

Source: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa21/4893/2016/en/