Human rights defenders are concerned about the welfare of two West Papuan activists detained in Indonesia's capital.
Roland Levy and Kelvin Molama were arrested by the officers with the Directorate of General Criminal Investigation in Jakarta earlier this month.
Photo: 123RF
The pair are members of the Papuan Student Alliance whose lawyer Michael Hilman claims that police did not produce an arrest warrant when apprehending them.
According to CNN Indonesia, the pair were facing charges under a section of the republic's criminal code that related to theft and violence.
They were accused of mistreating during a demonstration in the capital by Papuan students against the government's plans to extend Special Autonomy in Papua.
Special Autonomy status, which was granted to West Papua 20 years ago in response to growing Papuan demands for independence, proved controversial.
Many Papuans deemed the Autonomy law had failed to empower them to run their own affairs, with calls for a legitimate self-determination process persisting.
Levy and Molama worked in facilitating discussion on Special Autonomy as part of their general work on democracy, human rights violations and media freedom related to Papua region.
Human Rights Watch voiced concern about the pair being arrested and still being held in custody in the Polda Metro Jaya detention centre in Jakarta.
They are held in a cell with 60 other detainees, and Levy had become sick, displaying respiratory symptoms.
The Legal Aid Institute in Jakarta raised issues about the irregularities in the way plain-clothed police arrested the pair.
The independent West Papuan news outlet Tabloid Jubi reported that investigations into Levy and Molama were continuing.
