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A New Zealand pilot has been freed from captivity after being abducted early last year upon landing at a remote Indonesian airport, where separatist rebels set his small plane on fire.
Phillip Mehrtens, a 38-year-old working for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air at the time of his abduction in Papua on Feb. 7, 2023, told reporters on Saturday, “Today I finally got out. … I am so happy to be back home with my family soon.”
“Thank you to everyone who helped me get out safely and healthy,” Mehrtens added during a news conference in the mining town of Timika, which is located west of the remote airstrip in Paro where he had been taken captive.
Television news earlier showed an emaciated, long-haired Mehrtens, wearing a dark-green shirt and black shorts, sitting in a room surrounded by police officers and local officials, according to The Associated Press. He sobbed while talking to his family via video and an officer tried to calm him down by patting his back. He was later flown to Jakarta to be reunited with his family.
New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens talks to the media following his release on Saturday. (AP/Endy Langobelen)
At the time of his abduction, rebel spokesperson Sebby Sambom was quoted as saying that “we will never release the pilot we are holding hostage unless Indonesia recognizes and frees Papua from Indonesian colonialism.”
However, on Tuesday, leaders of the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, issued a proposal for freeing Mehrtens that outlined terms including news media involvement in his release, according to the AP.
Indonesian police spokesperson Bayu Suseno said Saturday that Mehrtens’ release was the result of hard work from a small task force team that had been communicating with the separatists through a local church and community leaders as well as youth figures.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters also said that a wide range of government agencies had been working with Indonesian authorities and others to secure the release of Mehrtens for the past 19 1/2 months. Officials were also supporting Mehrtens’ family, Peters said.
New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens, who was held hostage for more than a year, sits after his release on Saturday, Sept. 21. (Satgas Damai Cartenz via AP)
“This was through a very long negotiation process and our patience not to do it repressively,” added Indonesia President Joko Widodo.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
