TAPOL's 3rd Quarterly Update 2026
The full Text of the newsletter is also available on Malichimp. To receive future newsletters and other content directly into your inbox, please subscribe! Two years after the country was put on notice by the international Permanent People’s Tribunal (PPT) for its abuses of the environment and indigenous communities of West Papua, and one year after being inundated by mass protests, Prabowo’s regime has proceeded to double down on forcing through his agenda. With the currency continuing its freefall to new record lows, blatant corruption...
Seruan Mendesak: Batalkan Hukuman Mati bagi Tahanan Politik Masyarakat Adat West Papua Karel Fatem
Organisasi-organisasi yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini menyampaikan solidaritas dengan Karel Fatem, alias Gelek, orang asli West Papua dari Maybrat yang saat ini berada di sel tahanan hukuman mati di Lembaga Pemasyarakatan (Lapas) Kelas IIB Sorong, Papua Barat Daya. Kami bergabung dengan masyarakat sipil di West Papua untuk menyerukan peninjauan segera dan pembatalan hukuman mati terhadapnya.
Urgent Appeal: Reverse the Death Sentence of Indigenous West Papuan Political Prisoner Karel Fatem
The undersigned organizations issue this appeal in solidarity with Karel Fatem, alias Gelek, an Indigenous West Papuan man from Maybrat currently held on death row at Class IIB Prison, Sorong (Lapas Kelas IIB Sorong), West Papua. We join West Papuan civil society in calling for the immediate review and reversal of his death sentence.
TAPOL Statement on the Recent Killings of a US Pilot and Communities in West Papua
We condemn the killing of Nicholas F. Goselin, a US national, in West Papua on 2nd July. This has occurred alongside horrific incidents and escalating violence across Intan Jaya, where seven incidents over the last three months have led to the deaths of three people, including a heavily pregnant woman, a minister and a teenager.
Pemerintah Indonesia harus menghormati kebebasan berekspresi di tengah maraknya intimidasi seputar perilisan film viral ‘Pig Feast’
Kredit Imej: JubiTVTAPOL sangat prihatin dengan intimidasi yang melingkupi peluncuran film dokumenter Pesta Babi: Kolonialisme di Zaman Kita. Dengan jutaan penayangan di internet, film ini telah mengangkat isu West Papua seperti yang belum pernah terjadi sebelumnya. Namun, peluncurannya di YouTube sebagian dipicu oleh intimidasi yang meluas dan pembubaran nonton bareng (nobar) film oleh militer dan kelompok milisi, serta, dalam perkembangan yang lebih berbahaya, terhadap orang-orang yang terlibat dalam produksi atau yang menjadi pemeran dalam film dokumenter itu sendiri.Intimidasi...
The Indonesian Government must respect free speech as mass intimidation surrounds viral film Pig Feast's launch
Image Credit: JubiTV TAPOL is greatly concerned by intimidation surrounding the release of the documentary film ‘Pig Feast: Colonialism in our Age’ (Pesta Babi: Kolonialisme di Zaman Kita). With millions of views online, it has raised the issue of West Papua like almost nothing else before it. However, its release on YouTube was in part prompted by the widespread intimidation and shutting down of film screenings by the military and militia groups, and, in a darker turn, people involved in the production or who were starring in the documentary itself.Intimidations and...
Ikhtisar Tahunan Papuans Behind Bars 2025
Kami mencatat 291 penangkapan politik sepanjang tahun ini. Setidaknya 233 dari mereka yang ditangkap telah dibebaskan tanpa dakwaan, beberapa jam atau sehari setelah penangkapan. Empat puluh orang dilaporkan sedang menghadapi proses hukum lebih lanjut di sejumlah pengadilan. Setidaknya 60 orang dilaporkan telah mengalami penyiksaan dan perlakuan buruk lainnya selama penangkapan atau penahanan mereka; lima orang meninggal dunia.
Papuans Behind Bars 2025 Annual Overview
We recorded a total of 291 political arrests throughout the year. At least 233 of those arrested were released without charge, a few hours or days after their arrest. Forty people are reported to be facing further legal proceedings in a number of courts. At least 60 reported having been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment during their arrest or detention; five died.
TAPOL's 2nd Quarterly Update 2026
The full Text of the newsletter is also available on Malichimp. To receive future newsletters and other content directly into your inbox, please subscribe! Indonesia has not been immune to the currents affecting the world’s politics so far this year. It seems to be increasingly jumping on to the bandwagon with the US, eroding years of carefully-cultivated neutrality in the process. Meanwhile, the intimidation of activists has reached a new shocking milestone, with prominent human rights activist Andrie Yunus being attacked with acid, after...
Urgent Appeal to Free the Five Imprisoned Mother Nature Cambodia Activists
We are deeply concerned about the five young human rights defenders of Mother Nature Cambodia (MNC) – Long Kunthea, Yim Leanghy, Thun Ratha, Phuon Keoraksmey, and Ly Chandaravuth (MNC5) – convicted in July 2024, and now serving six to eight years in prison.
Laporan Kebebasan Berekspresi dan Berkumpul West Papua 2025
Kredit Foto: Jubi.idPrabowo telah menjabat sebagai Presiden Indonesia sejak Oktober 2024, dan dampak rezimnya semakin terasa di seluruh lapisan masyarakat sipil. Suasana menjadi semakin tegang, dengan semakin besarnya kewenangan yang diberikan kepada aparat keamanan, pengetatan undang-undang yang mengkriminalisasi perbedaan pendapat, kembalinya kebijakan-kebijakan ala Orde Baru, serta adanya kesan bahwa hak-hak sipil yang diperjuangkan selama periode yang dikenal sebagai Reformasi kini semakin terkikis.Laporan TAPOL terbaru berjudul “Kebebasan Berekspresi dan Berkumpul di Papua Barat...
2025 West Papua Freedom of Expression and Assembly Full Report
Image Credit: Jubi.id Prabowo has been in power as President of Indonesia since October 2024, and the marks of his regime have been increasingly felt across civil society. The atmosphere has turned colder, with greater power going to the security services, a tightening of laws that criminalise dissent, a return of New Order-esque policies, and a sense that the civil rights fought for during the period known as Reformasi are being eroded away.TAPOL’s latest 2025 West Papua Freedom of Expression and Assembly Report saw the following major trends developing last year compared with...
In Memoriam: John Miller, co-founder of the ETAN
John Miller, co-founder of the East Timor Action Network (ETAN) which campaigned tirelessly for the self-determination of Timor-Leste, has passed away.
Joint Press Release: Arbitrary Arrests and Torture of Civilians in Tambrauw Regency, Southwest Papua
Following the deaths of three civilians in Tambrauw Regency, joint security forces conducted sweep operations on 18 March 2026, resulting in the arrest and reported torture of 12 individuals. The subsequent release of 14 detainees by the West Papua Regional Police on 25 March has led legal advocates from LBH Papua to condemn the actions as arbitrary and wrongful arrests.
The UK must not sacrifice human rights for economic growth
We find it troubling that the partnership purports to protect the environment, when in Papua, these military-dominated monocultures are riding roughshod over local communities.
Investigate and Fully Prosecute the Perpetrators of the Acid Attack Against Andrie Yunus!
We, civil society across the globe, strongly condemn and denounce the acid attack against the Deputy Coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), Andrie Yunus, on Thursday, 12 March 2026 in the Salemba area of Central Jakarta, Indonesia.
Papuans Behind Bars Quarterly Update October–December 2025
In the fourth quarter of 2025, we recorded 38 arrests, at least 36 of which were arbitrary. Thirty of those arrested have been released, six remain in detention, one has died, and the status of one remains unknown. Among all these arrests, we recorded 13 cases of alleged torture or other ill-treatment, one of which resulted in death. One of the victims of these arrests was a minor.
TAPOL's 1st Quarterly Update 2026
The full Text of the newsletter is also available on Malichimp. To receive future newsletters and other content directly into your inbox, please subscribe! As we move into 2026, Indonesia is encountering the global turbulence brought about by international conflict, economic downturns and rising populism that is affecting countries around the world. However, the government is also creating and magnifying the hardships that are being faced by everyday people. From legal codes and laws that threaten...
Mounting Sources of Discontent: Inequality, democratic decline and militarisation
Since protests across Indonesia in late-August and early-September 2025, authorities have pursued thousands of alleged participants, keeping hundreds in prolonged detention, often without sufficient evidence. The sources of protestors’ discontent include inequality and unemployment but also a declining quality of democracy. Another source of dismay is President Prabowo Subianto’s militarisation of civilian institutions.
Sumber Ketidakpuasan Meningkat: Ketimpangan, kemunduran demokrasi, dan militerisasi
Sejak protes yang melanda Indonesia pada akhir Agustus dan awal September 2025, aparat keamanan telah menindak ribuan orang yang diduga terlibat kerusuhan, menahan ratusan orang dengan masa penahanan yang panjang, sering kali tanpa bukti yang memadai. Sumber ketidakpuasan para demonstran meliputi ketimpangan dan pengangguran, serta penurunan kualitas demokrasi. Sumber kekecewaan lainnya adalah militerisasi institusi sipil.