NZ pilot Phillip Mehrtens freed by rebels in Papua ‘safe and well’
New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed from more than 18 months in captivity in Indonesia’s Papua, the Indonesian police said in a statement on Saturday.
The NZ government said Mr Mehrtens was doing well and had spoken to his family, which had been assisted by Wellington.
“We are pleased and relieved to confirm that Phillip Mehrtens is safe and well and has been able to talk with his family,” Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “This news must be an enormous relief for his friends and loved ones.”
His release came after intense diplomatic efforts by Wellington and Jakarta. Rebels had demanded Indonesia recognise Papuan independence in return for his freedom.
An armed faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), led by Egianus Kogoya, kidnapped Mr Mehrtens on February 7, 2023, after he landed a small commercial plane in the remote, mountainous area of Nduga.
The TPNPB did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr Mehrtens was freed and picked up by a joint team in Nduga Regency, the police said.
“Today we have picked up pilot Phillip who is in good health and we flew him from Nduga to Timika,” Faizal Ramadhani, head of a special unit formed to handle rebels in Papua, said in a statement, agencies reported.
The released hostage was then given medical and psychological checks before he was flown to Papua’s city of Timika.
Mr Mehrtens was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he was snatched by rebels at Nduga airport in the restive region on February 7 last year.
He was providing vital air links and supplies to remote communities at the time of his abduction by rebels from the TPNPB.
Last year, the TPNPB set fire to the Susi Air plane, released five other passengers but held on to Mr Mehrtens.
During his months-long ordeal in the Papuan countryside, the New Zealander made sporadic appearances on video, likely under duress, to address his family and his government.
The rebels said he was in good health throughout his captivity, but his appearance changed drastically over time, becoming gaunt, long-haired and with an unkempt beard in proof-of-life videos where he asked for medication to aid his asthma.
Another New Zealand pilot, 50-year-old Glen Malcolm Conning, was shot dead last month after landing in the region with two Indonesian health workers and two children, all of whom survived.
Indonesia maintains a heavy military presence in resource-rich but underdeveloped Papua to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.
Rebel attacks in Papua have risen in recent years and flying is the only available option to reach remote mountainous areas there.
Papua’s Melanesian population shares few cultural connections with the rest of Indonesia and the military has long been accused of human rights abuses there, Agence France-Presse reported.
The former Dutch colony declared independence in 1961, but neighbouring Indonesia took control two years later, promising a referendum. In 1969, a thousand Papuans voted to integrate into Indonesia in a United Nations-backed vote.
Papuan independence activists criticise the vote and call for fresh polls, but Jakarta says its sovereignty over Papua is supported by the UN.
