Relief as pilot held prisoner for 19 months by rebels in remote Pacific region allowed to walk free

21 September 2024, 11:20 | Updated: 21 September 2024, 11:57

A pilot who had been held captive by rebels in a remote region of Indonesia for over a year has been released.

Phillip Mark Mehrtens, the New Zealand pilot who was working for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air, was handed over early on Saturday to the national government.

He was held prisoner by separative rebels in the Papua region for 19 months.

Mr Mehrtens was handed over to the Indonesian government forces after the rebels let him walk free early on Saturday, said spokesperson Bayu Suseno.

“We managed to pick him up in good health,” Mr Suseno said, adding that Mr Mehrtens was flown to the mining town Timika for further health examination.

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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 Mr Mehrtens on February 7, 2023.

Mr Kogoya initially said the rebels would not release Mr Mehrtens unless Indonesia’s government allows Papua to become a sovereign country.

Leaders of the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement known as TPNPB, said they would let Mr Mehrtens go after a year being held by his captors.

The rebels issued a proposal on Tuesday for freeing Mr Mehrtens that outlined terms including news media involvement in his release.

New Zealand foreign minister Winston Peters confirmed Mr Mehrtens’ release after 592 days in captivity.

“We are pleased and relieved to confirm that Phillip Mehrtens is safe and well and has been able to talk with his family,” Mr Peters said in a written statement on Saturday.

“This news must be an enormous relief for his friends and loved ones.”

Mr Peters said a wide range of New Zealand government agencies had been working with Indonesian authorities and others to secure the release for the past 19-and-a-half months.

Officials were also supporting Mr Mehrtens’ family, Mr Peters said.

Many news outlets showed “cooperation and restraint” in reporting the story, he added.

“The case has taken a toll on the Mehrtens family, who have asked for privacy,” Mr Peters said. “We ask media outlets to respect their wishes and therefore we have no further comment at this stage.”

New Zealand news outlets reported during Mr Mehrtens’ captivity that he was one of a number of expatriate pilots employed by Susi Air and in recent years lived in Bali with his family.

Mr Mehrtens, who was 37 when he was kidnapped, was originally from the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, and trained as a pilot in his home country, according to the news outlets Stuff and the New Zealand Herald.