Gamaliel Kaliele, Sorong – At least 12 residents of Sorong City, Southwest Papua province, were arrested following a protest against the transfer of four Federal Republic of West Papua (NFRPB) political prisoners (tapol) to Makassar, South Sulawesi, to stand trial on treason charges.

Legal representatives described the actions of Sorong City Municipal Police (Polresta) officers as a form of discrimination against Papuans.

"Today, 12 of our younger sisters and brothers are being detained at the Sorong City Polresta. We ask the Kapolri [national police chief], President Prabowo Subianto, the Southwest Papua Kapolresta [municipal police chief] and the Sorong City Kapolresta to uphold the law in accordance with procedures. Don't just arrest them", said Simon Sore SH, the attorney representing the victims of wrongful arrest during an interview at the Sorong City Municipal Police Headquarters on Wednesday August 27.

He is asking the authorities to uphold the principal of presumption of innocence. "We're giving them 24 hours to release them. Otherwise, we will take legal action and form an advocacy team", Sore said.

Sore emphasised that Papuans are consistently discriminated against when expressing their opinions in their own country. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, corruptors can receive amnesty.

"Why are Papuans always treated differently? Arrested, and their trials moved to other regions? This is a violation of the law. We must not allow our younger sisters and brothers to be used as scapegoats to cover up the weaknesses of the authorities", he said.

The legal counsel requested that the central and regional governments immediately take concrete steps so that the conflict does not drag on.

Meanwhile, Southwest Papua House of Representatives (DPR, more usually abbreviated as DPRD) member George Yulius Wanma from the Papua Special Autonomy faction visited the Sorong Municipal Police Headquarters after reviewing the chaos on Jalan Baru.

"We're here because of our people, and we care about protecting the ordinary people. If this issue isn't resolved, we will hold a hearing tomorrow and invite the Kapolda [Regional Police Chief] to sit down with the DPR", he said.

Wanma believes that the incident in Sorong City today was triggered by spontaneous public anger over the transfer of the political prisoners.

"Papuans, when something happens, always come in large numbers, to watch, and join in reacting. Be careful, because what we've seen has gotten serious, with people throwing rocks and even Molotov cocktails. But people still come and watch because they want to know. So, don't accuse everyone of being the perpetrators. The authorities must be fair", he explained.

He emphasised that the Southwest Papua DPR supports the legal process and does not interfere with police work. However, he hopes there will be no victims of wrongful arrest today. "We, as the DPR, feel compelled to address the suffering of our people. There must be no scapegoats in this case", he said.

The incident began when the public received news that four West Papuan political prisoners from the NFRPB, Abraham Goram Gaman, Maksi Sangkek, Piter Robaha and Nixon Maay, who were being held at the Sorong City Municipal Police Headquarters, would be transferred to Makassar today.

A group of demonstrators then held a protest action in front of the Sorong City Municipal Police Headquarters from Tuesday (August 26) until Wednesday morning.

Dozens of officers from the Sorong City Municipal Police and the Southwest Papua Regional Police paramilitary Mobile Brigade (Brimob) providing tight security to four NFRPB members as they headed to DEO Sorong Airport at around 6.59 am on Wednesday.

They also escorted the four prisoners using a Barracuda armoured vehicle, a tactical vehicle (Rantis) and the Sorong District Attorney's car. The officers were seen wearing all black uniforms and carrying weapons.

The protesters then moved to the courtyard of the Sorong mayor's office. The situation heated up when they marched to the Southwest Papua governor's office to demand accountability for the Regional Leadership Communication Forum (Forkopimda) giving its approval to move the trial of the four political prisoners to Makassar.

At around 9.10 am a riot erupted resulting in the destruction of government facilities. Several office windows were smashed on the first and second floors and the main door to the governor's office was even damaged by rocks thrown by protesters.

The demonstrators then erected a blockade and stones were thrown at several points in front of the Yohan complex on Jalan Baru in protest against the legal process.

Police responded by firing tear gas and bullets in an attempt to disperse the crowd, which continued to grow in size throughout the afternoon. The exact number of casualties today remains unknown.

Notes

The four Papuan political prisoners from the NFRPB were arrested on April 28 and subsequently charged with makar (treason, subversion, rebellion) and violations of the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law for distributing letters to several government agencies in Southwest Papua asking for dialogue on resolving the conflict in Papua.

[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "12 Warga Sorong Ditangkap Pasca Aksi Tolak Pemindahan Tapol".]

Source: https://jubi.id/domberai/2025/12-warga-sorong-ditangkap-pasca-aksi-tolak-pemindahan-tapol/