The New Zealand pilot who was held hostage for over a year in the restive Papua region was freed by separatist rebels, Indonesian authorities said on Saturday (September 21). The pilot was identified as Philip Mark Mehrtens who hailed from Christchurch and was working for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air. He was handed over to the Cartenz Peace Taskforce early Saturday after separatist rebels let him walk free, the taskforce spokesperson Bayu Suseno said.
“We managed to pick him up in good health,” Suseno said, adding that Mehrtens was flown to the mining town Timika for further health examination.
Independence fighters led by Egianus Kogoya, a regional commander in the Free Papua Movement, stormed a single-engine plane on a small runway in Paro and abducted Mehrtens on February 7 last year. Kogoya initially said the rebels would not release Mehrtens unless Indonesia's government allows Papua to become a sovereign country.
However, leaders of the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement known as TPNPB, said they would let Mehrtens go after a year being held by his captors.
(With AP inputs)
