New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed more than one-and-a-half years after being kidnapped by armed separatists in the Indonesian province of Highland Papua.
Mehrtens was picked up by a joint team in the Nduga area and was undergoing health check-ups and a psychological examination in Timika regency, the Indonesian police said in a statement.
Mehrtens was handed over to the Cartenz Peace Taskforce, a joint security force set up by the Indonesian government to deal with separatist groups in Papua.
“We managed to pick him up in good health,” taskforce spokesman Bayu Suseno said.
Indonesia’s Metro TV showed him tearfully speaking to his family by phone.
A faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army, led by Egianus Kogoya, kidnapped Mehrtens in February 2023 after he landed a small commercial plane in the remote, mountainous area of Nduga.
“Through the long process of negotiation, with patience not to do it repressively, our priority has been the safety of the pilot through this long process,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in televised remarks.
New Zealand’s foreign minister, Winston Peters, said a range of NZ government agencies had been working with Indonesian authorities and others towards securing Mehrtens’ release.
“We are pleased and relieved to confirm that Phillip Mehrtens is safe and well and has been able to talk with his family. This news must be an enormous relief for his friends and loved ones,” Peters said in a statement.
The Indonesian police are due to hold a press conference later on Saturday.
“We are prioritising approach through religious leaders, church leaders, traditional leaders and Egianus Kogoya’s close family to minimise casualties and maintain the safety of the pilot,” said Indonesian Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani, head of Cartenz 2024 Peace Operations.
Another New Zealand pilot, Glen Malcolm Conning, was killed by separatist rebels in Papua in August after landing his helicopter in a remote area, authorities said at the time.
Source Agencies
