New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens has been released from captivity by rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papua region and is in good health despite 19 months of torture, Indonesian and New Zealand officials said on Saturday.
Philip Mehrtens, 38, was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he was abducted by insurgents from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) rebel group at Nduga Airport in Papua on February 7 last year.
A joint task force of police and military forces detained Mehrtens in a village in the Nduga district on Saturday morning, where he underwent medical and psychological examinations and was then taken to the Papua city of Timika, unit chief Faizal Ramadhani said.
“Today I have been released. I am very happy that soon I will be able to go home and see my family,” Mehrtens earlier told reporters in Indonesian in Timika.
“Thank you to everyone who helped me today so I could get out safely and in a healthy state.”
Mehrtens arrived in the capital Jakarta from Timika on Saturday evening, where Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Hadi Tjahjanto told reporters that Mehrtens had been handed over to the New Zealand ambassador.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters earlier said Mehrtens was “safe and well” and able to speak to his family.
“This news will come as a huge relief to his friends and loved ones,” Peters said.
Mehrtens was providing vital air connectivity and supplies to remote communities at the time of his abduction.
The task force has released footage of an emotional Mehrtens speaking to his family on the phone, where an unidentified loved one can be heard telling him to “be patient.”
Video Addresses
His release followed intense diplomatic efforts by Wellington and Jakarta.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo said on Saturday that Jakarta had achieved Mehrtens’ freedom through negotiations and not force.
“We gave priority to the safety of the hostage pilot. It took a long process and I appreciate the officials,” he told reporters.
The rebels demanded that Indonesia recognise Papua’s independence in exchange for their independence.
TPNPB spokesman Sebi Sambom said another faction of the insurgent group had agreed to a settlement with the Indonesian government, and accused the government of accepting payment without providing proof.
The rebels once threatened to kill Mehrtens if talks were not held. The group said foreign nationals were targeted because their governments have ties with Indonesia.
In February 2023, TPNPB rebels set fire to a Susi Air plane and released five passengers but captured Mehrtens.
During his captivity in rural Papua, the New Zealand citizen made sporadic appearances on video, possibly under pressure, to address his family and the government.
The rebels said he was in perfect health, but his appearance had changed drastically over time, and in the proof-of-life video he appeared thin, long-haired and bearded.
Mehrtens appeared to be in good physical condition in photos published by Indonesian authorities on Saturday.
‘Gentleman’
Mehrtens, a father of one, grew up in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.
During his captivity, he was described by friends as a “kind and gentle man” who helped Papuans by flying to areas hard to reach by road and where many people could not, according to New Zealand media outlets.
Indonesia maintains a heavy military presence in resource-rich but underdeveloped Papua to suppress a long-running separatist insurgency.
Insurgent attacks have increased in the region in recent years and air travel is the only way to reach the remote mountainous areas.
Last month another New Zealand pilot, Glenn Malcolm Koning, 50, was shot and killed as he landed in the region with two Indonesian health workers and two children, although they all survived.
The former Dutch colony declared independence in 1961, but neighbouring Indonesia regained control two years later by promising a referendum. In 1969, a thousand Papuans voted to be integrated into Indonesia in a UN-backed poll.
Papua independence activists regularly criticise the vote and demand new elections, but Jakarta says its sovereignty over Papua is backed by the United Nations.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
