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Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Ganius Wenda, a West Papuan Political Prisoners advocate and human rights lawyer who passed away today in Jayapura, West Papua.
It is my fervent wish that future generations uphold the principles of political freedoms, peace and anti-militarism”
TAPOL regrets the sentencing of seven West Papuan political prisoners today in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan province. The Seven were arrested in early September 2019 and accused of being the masterminds behind the ‘West Papua Uprising’, mass anti-racism protests in August and September last year. Prosecutors demanded that harsh prison sentences should be handed to the Seven, which has caused a rise in tensions in recent weeks in West Papua.
Join TAPOL and ETAN in a LIVE WEBINAR exploring the consequences of a racist justice system for political activists in West Papua. Please see the invitation attached for details about how to join!
TAPOL condemns the demand by Prosecutors seeking seventeen and five years imprisonment respectively, for West Papuan activists Buchtar Tabuni and Irwanus Uropmabin.
These sentences are excessive and at best an attempt to make examples out of West Papuan political activists who are simply trying to exercise their civil and political rights. These rights are protected by international principles as well as Indonesia’s national Constitution.
West Papuans have been denouncing the injustice of these heavy sentences, as the racist perpetrators in Java who triggered the mass protests were either freed or only sentenced to 5, 7, and 10 months imprisonment.
On 25th April 2020, more than a hundred people participated in a peaceful rally commemorating the declaration of the South Moluccan Republic seventy years ago. As a result, at least 23 people were arrested on that day. Most of them were released however, seven people are detained and have been charged with treason articles: 106, 110 and 160 of the Indonesian Criminal Code.