Separatist rebels free New Zealand pilot after 19 months in Indonesia’s Papua

Phillip Mark Mehrtens picked up in good health, officials say

The New Zealand pilot held hostage for more than a year in the restive Papua region has been freed by separatist rebels, Indonesian authorities said on Saturday.

Phillip Mark Mehrtens, the pilot from Christchurch who was working for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air, was handed over to the Cartenz Peace Taskforce, the joint security force set up by the Indonesian government to deal with separatist groups in Papua, after the rebels let him walk free early on Saturday.

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

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 Mehrtens on 7 February in 2023.

Mr Kogoya initially declared the rebels would not release the pilot unless the Indonesian government allowed 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 Mehrtens go after over a year in captivity.

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,” Peters said in a 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. Officials were also supporting Mr Mehrtens’ family, he 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,” Peters said. “We ask media outlets to respect their wishes and therefore we have no further comment at this stage.”

New Zealand’s media 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.

Aged 37 when he was kidnapped, Mr Mehrtens trained as a pilot in his home country.