13 Indonesian soldiers arrested for torturing a man

The Indonesian military has announced that it has arrested 13 soldiers for torturing a Papuan man, after a video of the incident emerged.

A video of a Papuan man being beaten by several people while his hands were tied and he was locked in a water tank has been widely shared on Indonesian social media in recent days. Another video shows the man being slashed in the back by a man in military uniform with a knife. Papua is a resource-rich region in the far east of the country and has a high degree of autonomy compared to other Indonesian provinces.

The two videos have sparked strong criticism on Indonesian social media. Izak Pangemana, a senior Israeli military official in Papua province, confirmed the content of the videos on March 25, saying the incident took place in February.

A man is tortured by Indonesian soldiers in a video taken in February. Screenshot — A man is seen being tortured by Indonesian soldiers in a video filmed in February. *Screenshot*

"This is an unlawful act that tarnishes the name of the military and undermines efforts to resolve the conflict in Papua," Pangemana said, adding that 13 soldiers had been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the torture. "I apologize to all Papuans. We will work to ensure this does not happen again."

Indonesian military spokesman Kristomei Sianturi confirmed on the same day that the force had arrested 13 soldiers out of a total of 42 people being questioned. The identities of the soldiers will be announced soon.

Fighting between armed separatists and government forces has been raging in Papua province since the region was annexed by Indonesia following a UN-supervised referendum in 1969.

Papuan activists criticized the vote and called for another referendum, but the Indonesian government insisted the United Nations supported Jakarta's sovereignty over the region.