Filep Karma, a prominent Papuan activist, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for raising the Morning Star flag on December 1, 2004 in Abepura. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determined Karma’s detention had violated international law, and called for his release. The Indonesian government released Karma in 2015. He died in a diving accident on November 1, 2022. © 2015 Andreas Harsono/Human Rights Watch
Assa Asso, a photographer, posted multiple photos on his Facebook page after Indonesian security force attacked a Papuan student dormitory on August 17, 2019. He was arrested on September 2, 2019, found guilty of incitement, and sentenced to 10 months in prison. He was released on July 20, 2020. © 2023 Human Rights Watch
Sayang Mandabayan, a Papuan activist in Sorong, produced thousands of small Morning Star flags to protest racism for a rally in Manokwari, West Papua. She was arrested when landing at Manokwari airport on September 2, 2019, and charged with incitement to violence and treason. On May 27, 2020, a court sentenced her to nine months in prison. © 2024 Sapariah Saturi
Malwin Manfre Yobe, a student leader at the University of Science and Technology in Jayapura, joined a Morning Star flag-raising on December 1, 2021, in a stadium. Eight students, including Yobe, were tortured inside the Jayapura police station – one student later died in prison. Yobe has a bump on his forehead from mistreatment and still suffered severe headaches after his release following a 10-month imprisonment. © 2023 Human Rights Watch
Melvin Fernando Waine, after graduating Cenderawasih University in Jayapura, joined seven students on December 1, 2021 to raise the Morning Star flag in a stadium in Jayapura and called on the United Nations to visit West Papua. They were arrested, tortured – one student died some months later—and convicted for “treason.” They were sentenced to 10 months in prison. © 2023 Human Rights Watch
Ariana Elopere, a Papuan student in Jakarta, joined an anti-racism protest on August 28, 2019, and was arrested and sentenced to nine months in prison for “treason.” © 2023 Andreas Harsono/Human Rights Watch
Victor Yeimo, the international spokesman for the West Papua National Committee, was arrested in August 2019 during a mass protest against racism in Jayapura. He was accused of incitement, but witnesses said during his trial that he was not involved in organizing the protests. The Jayapura court convicted Yeimo and sentenced him to eight months in prison in May 2023. Yeimo was in Berlin in 2019 for a West Papua conference. © 2019 Andreas Harsono/Human Rights Watch