Kiwi pilot freed after being held hostage for 592 days
After 592 days in captivity, a New Zealand pilot is finally going home.
Phillip Mehrtens was taken hostage in Indonesia by a West Papua rebel group in February 2023 when he was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air.
The pilot was kidnapped by rebels from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) insurgent group at Papua’s Nduga airport on February 7th 2023, and spent over a year and a half in captivity.
On Saturday, the 38-year-old was collected by police and military forces from a village in Nduga district before being given medical and psychological checks.
He was then flown to the Papuan city of Timika before jetting to the capital Jakarta where he was handed over to New Zealand’s ambassador.
“Today I have been freed,” Mehrtens told reporters. “I am very happy that shortly I will be able to go home and meet my family."
“Thank you to everybody who helped me today so I can get out safely in a healthy condition.”
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters earlier said Mehrtens was “safe and well” and had been able to speak with his family, saying, “This news must be an enormous relief for his friends and loved ones."
Mehrtens' long-anticipated release came after intense negotiation efforts between Wellington and Jakarta, with Indonesian President Joko Widodo saying that Jakarta had secured Mehrtens’ freedom through negotiation, not force.
“We prioritised the safety of the pilot who was held hostage. It took a long process and I appreciate the authorities,” he told reporters.
The rebels had demanded that the Indonesian government recognise Papuan independence in return for his freedom, as Mehrtens' kidnapping was part of a long-term, often brutally violent conflict between the Indonesian government and West Papua’s Indigenous people.
Image credits: The West Papuan National Liberation Army / Handout