New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens freed from captivity in Indonesia’s Papua

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JAKARTA (Reuters) -New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens has been freed more than 19 months after being kidnapped by armed separatists in Indonesia’s Papua, authorities said on Saturday.

Mehrtens was freed and picked up by a joint team in the Nduga area, undergoing health check-ups and a psychological examination in Timika regency, the Indonesian police said in a statement.

After being shown on Indonesia’s Metro TV speaking tearfully to his family by phone, Mehrtens appeared at a press conference and seemed to be in good spirits.

A faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army led by Egianus Kogoya kidnapped Mehrtens on Feb. 7, 2023, after he landed a small commercial plane in the remote, mountainous area of Nduga.

Arriving in the capital Jakarta late on Saturday, he was put in the care of New Zealand government representatives, Indonesian senior cabinet minister Hadi Tjahjanto said told reporters.

Mehrtens did not appear to suffer any post-traumatic stress although he had lost a lot of weight, said Bambang Trisnohadi, a lieutenant general with the Indonesian military, at the press conference.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on social media platform X he was grateful Mehrtens had been released.

“My appreciation to all those in Indonesia and New Zealand who have supported this positive outcome for Phillip and his family,” Luxon said.

Mehrtens’ family said in a statement on Sunday that they were “extremely grateful and relieved that Phillip has been released and will soon be reunited with us”.

A range of New Zealand government agencies had been working with Indonesian authorities and others towards securing Mehrtens’ release, Peters said earlier in a statement.

“Through the long process of negotiation, with patience not to do it repressively, our priority has been the safety of the pilot,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in televised remarks.

In August another New Zealand pilot, Glen Malcolm Conning, was killed by separatist rebels in Papua after landing his helicopter in a remote area, authorities said at the time.

(Reporting by Dewi Kurniawati in Jakarta; Additional reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney and Fransiska Nangoy in Jakarta; Editing by William Mallard and Tom Hogue)