Sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for the act of simply raising a flag, Filep Karma is undoubtedly the best-known political prisoner in West Papua. His release on 19 November 2015 was widely celebrated among Papuan civil society.
The son of a prominent local politician, originally from Biak island, Filep Karma studied political science in Java before working as a civil servant in Papua.
Mr Karma’s first conviction for treason occurred in the euphoric weeks following the fall of Suharto’s regime, as people all over Indonesia rose up to seize the new possibilities to express their aspirations and seek to redress the injustices of the dictatorship. Human Rights Watch has chronicled the demonstrations which broke out across Papua, when people were emboldened by a letter from a group of US Congress members which asked President Habibie to review the status of West Papua and East Timor. On 2 July 1998 Mr Karma led a demonstration in Biak where the Morning Star Flag was raised on a water tower near the harbour. Despite a confrontation with the police that same day, the demonstrators managed to defend the flag and the port for four more days.
The Morning Star flag is a symbol of Papuan identity and seen as treasonous by the Indonesian state. While it was allowed under Indonesia’s 2001 Special Autonomy laws relating to the governance of Papua, it was subsequently banned again by Presidential Regulation 77/2007.
Early on the morning of 6 July, the military took control of Biak Harbour. Eben Kirksey, an American anthropologist who happened to be in Biak at the time, reported that Filep Karma was shot in each leg, but survived. However he also recorded eye-witnesses telling of trucks laden with the dead and dying, and how local investigators claimed that 139 bodies were loaded onto two navy ships and dumped at sea. Thirty-two bodies were later washed up along the coast.
Andreas Harsono, a consultant for Human Rights Watch has recorded that 150 people were arrested that day, 19 of whom were brought to trial, including Filep Karma. On 25 January 1999 Mr Karma was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, but he later appealed and was released after spending 18 months in detention. An article in local Papuan newspaper the Cenderawasih Pos confirmed that the charge was treason under article 106 of the Indonesian Criminal Code, and mentioned that around 2000 sympathisers were present at his trial.
After his release, according to Andreas Harsono, Mr Karma continued to work for the government, training new civil servants. On 1 December 2004, the day many Papuans regard as the anniversary of the granting of independence by the Dutch, Mr Karma was once again arrested for organising a flag-raising. In their report “Protest and Punishment – Political Prisoners in West Papua,” Human Rights Watch noted that Mr Karma had sent a letter to local police informing them of the intention to hold a celebration on Trikora Field, Abepura, that day. The event consisted of speeches, prayers and dancing (Mr Karma’s speech that day can be viewed on Youtube), during which the Morning Star flag was raised. Clashes broke out as police tried to take down the flag, and police fired into the crowd.
Mr Karma, together with Yusak Pakage was arrested the next day. National newspaper Tempo reported that as a protest against his detention, Mr Karma began a hunger strike, and also tied a white cloth over his mouth, refusing to speak.
During the trial process, according to Human Rights Watch, both Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage challenged the court’s authority to prosecute them, claiming they were West Papuan citizens, not Indonesians. The defence also protested the impartiality of one of the judges, after a series of inflammatory remarks. The judge in question had apparently told the police to “Smash in the head of Filep if he’s naughty” and even said “You be quiet, you want to die do you?” to a female pro-Karma protester as he punched and kicked her. The defence lawyers were also subjected to intimidation; a severed dog’s head was left outside the Jayapura Legal Aid (LBH) office with a threatening note addressing the two defence lawyers by name.
Once again there were huge public demonstrations in support of the two defendants, both inside and outside the courtroom. The force of this was felt on 10 May, as angry supporters protested the prosecution’s demand that the two men be sentenced to five years in prison. The Human Rights Watch report indicates that courtroom windows and vehicles were smashed, and the crowd tried to blockade the vehicle containing the two defendants so that Mr Karma could address the crowd directly. However, the police fought back and at least thirteen people, including two policemen, were injured in the clashes that followed. The Head of the Jayapura police and ten others were later demoted because of human rights violations that occurred during these protests, but subsequent hearings were protected by 300 police officers surrounding the court.
On 26 May 2005, Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage were found guilty of treason. Mr Karma’s sentence was 15 years, three times longer than the prosecution’s original demand that had triggered the angry protests two weeks previously. Defending the heavy sentences, the judges said there were no factors which could mitigate the sentences. Appeals to the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court were unsuccessful.
Mr Karma’s state of health in prison has been a source of concern since at least August 2009, when he was brought to the Dok II Hospital in Jayapura for kidney problems, according to the Solidarity Organization for Victims of Human Rights Abuses in Papua (Solidaritas Korban Pelanggaran HAM di Papua, SKPHP). The hospital recommended that he be transferred to Cikini Hospital in Jakarta to see a specialist in urological surgery, but the prison refused to pay for this treatment, although it is their legal obligation to do so. Instead, members of SKPHP in Jayapura and activists in Manokwari went out on the streets to raise money for the treatment. This way they were able to pay the costs of flights and accommodation for members of his family who supported him during the trip. Filep Karma was in Jakarta from 19 to 31 July 2010. The RP 60.8 million medical bill was paid for mostly by international NGOs (94%), and the remainder by the Provincial government of Papua.
As supporters mobilised to raise funds for his treatment, Mr Karma worked to draw attention to the plight of other political prisoners, especially Ferdinand Pakage who needed treatment for an eye injury after he was beaten by a prison guard. Local newspaper Tabloid Jubi reported Mr Karma as saying that he was holding back from leaving to Jakarta for treatment in order to leave together with Ferdinand Pakage, but that in the end he was forced to leave alone. A message from the prison reportedly received by West Papua Media even indicated that Mr Karma started a hunger strike on 5 October 2010, demanding adequate medical attention for Ferdinand Pakage, although no reports were received about how long this protest lasted.
Mr Karma continued to experience health problems until 2012, when local doctors recommended he should travel once again to Jakarta for a colonoscopy. A press release from his family published by West Papua Media stated that once again the Indonesian state refused to pay for this treatment. Once again Mr Karma’s supporters across Papua and internationally had to raise money for the treatment.
On 3 December 2010 Mr Karma was moved out of Abepura prison to the Papuan Police Headquarters. This was after a disturbance broke out in the prison, when prisoners learnt that Miron Wetipo, an inmate who had recently escaped, had been shot dead. Mr Karma, along with another political prisoner Buchtar Tabuni and three others were moved to the police station and accused of being the ringleaders. However, BUK Papua has reported that the two men were merely trying to negotiate a dialogue with the prison chief to investigate the shooting, and trying to prevent the prisoners from destroying the prison. Reports in local newspapers Tabloid Jubi and Bintang Papua reveal that the five men were charged with criminal damage under article 170 of the criminal code, and also that for some days after they were moved their lawyer was not able to visit them. Mr Karma once again refused food for a period in protest. They remained in the police station until 7 March 2011.
In 2011 Mr Karma was one of several Papuan political prisoners who was offered remission as part of Indonesia’s celebration of its independence day on 17 August. He refused this offer, saying that he would only accept unconditional freedom, accompanied by an apology to the Papuan people who have been killed, or oppressed, or who have had their land taken from them. A video of this refusal can be viewed on West Papua Media Alerts.
Because of the extremely long sentence he received for peacefully expressing his views, and possibly because of his own determination to stay firm with his beliefs even while behind bars, Filep Karma’s case has attracted support from many international organisations and has also become a focus for campaigns against Indonesia’s repressive use of the treason laws. Human Rights Watch has repeatedly chronicled his case, and Amnesty International has described him as a prisoner of conscience since at least February 2005, while consistently campaigning for his release. In August 2011, 26 US Congressmen signed a letter to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requesting his release. A United Nations body, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has also issued a high-level opinion on Mr Karma’s case, claiming his detention represents a breach of articles 9, 10, 11 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and demanding that he be immediately released and compensated.
There were reports of Filep Karma’s family being targeted and physically attacked. Andrefina Karma, Filep’s daughter was allegedly deliberately hit by a motorcycle outside her house in Jayapura on 6 June 2013. The motorcyclist had reportedly been waiting around and monitoring the house when Andrefina was on her way back home from work, when he crashed into her when she entered the alley to her house. He had allegedly attempted to approach her after the crash, but left hurriedly when concerned neighbours came to the scene.
On 19 November 2015, Mr Karma was finally released via a special decade remission. While Mr Karma has repeatedly rejected clemency and remissions, due to the implicit admission of guilt to which he does not subscribe, in the event he was not given the choice to refuse this remission, but instead simply removed from the prison. Mr Karma was accompanied during his release by his lawyer Ms Olga Hamadi, of KontraS Papua.
Sources
Amnesty International, “Indonesia Prisoners of Conscience Action 2005,” 1 February 2005, https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA21/004/2005/en/8763d4e1-d51c-11dd-8a23-d58a49c0d652/asa210042005en.html
Andreas Harsono, “Belajar Dari Filep Karma,” 24 February 2011, http://www.andreasharsono.net/2010/11/belajar-dari-filep-karma.html
Bintang Papua, “Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni to face charges ‘for damaging public property’,” posted in translation by West Papua Media, 16 December 2011, http://westpapuamedia.info/2010/12/16/filep-karma-and-buchtar-tabuni-to-face-charges-for-damaging-public-property/
BUK Papua, “Filep Karma,” 9 August 2010, http://bukpapua.org/?p=19
BUK Papua, “Filef Karma dan Buktar Tabuni Dipindah Ke Kapolda Papua,” 5 December 2005, https://bukpapua.wordpress.com/2010/12/05/filef-karma-dan-buktar-tabuni-dipindah-ke-tahanan-kapolda-papua/
Cenderawasih Pos, “Filep Karma Divonis 6 Tahun Penjara,” 26 January 1999, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irianjaya/message/536
Eben Kirksey, “What is Indonesia Trying to Hide in West Papua?” 17 October 2012, http://ebenkirksey.blogspot.fr/2012/10/what-is-indonesia-trying-to-hide-in.html
ETAN, “26 Members of the House of Representatives Write Indonesia President to Call for Release of Papuan Prisoner Filep Karma,” 19 August 2011, http://www.etan.org/news/2011/08filepletter.htm
Filep Karma, “Freedom for West-Papua speech,” 2004, posted on Youtube 6 April 2008,
Freedom Now, “United Nations Declares Indonesia’s Detention of Filep Karma a Violation of International Law, Calls for Immediate Release,” 16 November 2011, http://www.freedom-now.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Karma-Press-Release-FINAL2.pdf
Human Rights Watch, “Protest and Punishment – Political Prisoners in Papua,” February 2007, http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/papua0207webwcover.pdf
Human Rights Watch, Indonesia: Human Rights and Pro-Independence Actions in Irian Jaya, 1998,
http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/biak/biak.htm
Jubi, “Karma Continues His Hunger Strike,” posted in translation by West Papua Media, 11 December 2011, http://westpapuamedia.info/2010/12/11/karma-continues-his-hunger-strike-komnasham-unable-to-visit-filep-and-buchtar/
Tempointeractif.com, “Filep Karma Masih Mogok Makan dan Bicara,” 11 December 2004, http://www.tempo.co.id/hg/nusa/papua/2004/12/11/brk,20041211-15,id.html
West Papua Media Alerts,” Papuan Prisoner of Conscience Filep Karma in Jakarta for Medical Treatment,” 27 September 2012, http://westpapuamedia.info/2012/09/27/papuan-prisoner-of-conscience-filep-karma-in-jakarta-for-medical-treatment/
West Papua Media Alerts, “Filep Karma Refuses Indonesia’s Remission,” 20 August 2011, http://westpapuamedia.info/2011/08/20/filep-karma-refuses-indonesias-remission/
West Papua Media Alerts, “Emergency: Papuan Political Prisoner Filep Karma refusing to Eat,” 5 October 2010, http://westpapuamedia.info/2010/10/05/emergency-papuan-political-prisoner-filep-karma-refusing-to-eat/Dijatuhi hukuman penjara selama 15 tahun karena tindakan mengibarkan bendera Bintang Kejora, Filep Karma tidak diragukan lagi sebagai tahanan politik paling terkenal di Papua Barat. Pembebasan dia pada 19 November 2015 sangat dinantikan dan dirayakan oleh masyarakat sipil di Papua, maupun komunitas HAM nasional dan internasional.
Putra seorang politisi lokal terkenal yang berasal dari pulau Biak, Filep Karma menempuh pendidikan ilmu politik di Jawa sebelum bekerja sebagai pegawai negeri sipil di Papua.
Masa tahanan pertama Filep Karma untuk makar terjadi pada minggu-minggu euforia menyusul jatuhnya rezim Soeharto, ketika rakyat di seluruh Indonesia bangkit merebut berbagai kemungkinan baru untuk mengekspresikan aspirasi mereka dan berusaha untuk memperbaiki ketidakadilan akibat kediktatoran. Human Rights Watch telah mencatat berbagai demonstrasi yang pecah di seluruh Papua, ketika rakyat Papua disemangati oleh adanya surat dari sekelompok anggota Kongres AS yang meminta Presiden Habibie untuk meninjau kembali status Papua Barat dan Timor Timur. Pada tanggal 2 Juli 1998 Filep Karma memimpin demonstrasi di Biak dimana bendera Bintang Kejora dikibarkan pada sebuah menara air di dekat pelabuhan. Meskipun telah terjadi konfrontasi dengan polisi pada hari yang sama, para demonstran berhasil mempertahankan bendera dan pelabuhan selama empat hari.
Bendera Bintang Kejora adalah simbol identitas Papua dan dipandang sebagai lambang pengkhianatan oleh negara Indonesia. Meskipun bendera tersebut diperbolehkan pemakaiannya menurut undang-undang Negara Republik Indonesia tahun 2001 tentang Otonomi Khusus yang berkaitan dengan tata pemerintahan Papua, hal itu kemudian dilarang penggunaannya melalui Peraturan Presiden 77/2007.
Pada pagi hari tanggal 6 Juli, militer mengambil alih pelabuhan Biak. Eben Kirksey, seorang antropolog Amerika yang kebetulan berada di Biak pada saat itu melaporkan bahwa Filep Karma ditembak di kedua kakinya tetapi selamat. Namun ia juga mencatat kesaksian dari para saksi mata yang mengatakan bahwa sejumlah truk dipenuhi dengan muatan orang-orang yang sekarat maupun yang mati, dan para peneliti lokal melaporkan bahwa sebanyak 139 mayat telah dimuat ke dalam dua kapal milik angkatan laut dan dibuang di laut. Sebanyak 32 mayat kemudian ditemukan terdampar di sepanjang pantai.
Andreas Harsono, seorang konsultan untuk Human Rights Watch mencatat dari 150 orang yang ditangkap hari itu, 19 di antaranya diproses di pengadilan, termasuk Filep Karma. Pada tanggal 25 Januari 1999 Karma dijatuhi hukuman enam setengah tahun penjara, namun ia kemudian mengajukan banding dan dibebaskan setelah menghabiskan 18 bulan dalam tahanan. Sebuah artikel di surat kabar lokal Papua Cenderawasih Pos menegaskan bahwa Ia dikenai tuntutan Makar menurut pasal 106 dari KUHP Indonesia, dan menyebutkan bahwa sekitar 2000 simpatisan menghadiri persidangannya.
Setelah Ia dibebaskan, menurut Andreas Harsono, Karma terus bekerja untuk pemerintah, serta melatih para pegawai negeri sipil baru. Pada tanggal 1 Desember 2004, hari dimana banyak orang Papua mengakuinya sebagai peringatan pemberian kemerdekaan oleh Belanda, Karma sekali lagi ditangkap karena mengorganisir pengibaran bendera. Dalam laporan mereka berjudul “Protes dan Hukuman – Tahanan Politik di Papua Barat,” Human Rights Watch mencatat bahwa Filep Karma telah mengirimkan surat kepada polisi setempat yang bermaksud untuk menyelenggarakan perayaan tersebut di Lapangan Trikora, Abepura, pada hari itu. Acara tersebut terdiri dari pidato, doa dan tarian (pidato Filep Karma hari itu dapat dilihat di Youtube), dan selama itu bendera Bintang Kejora dikibarkan. Bentrokan pecah saat polisi mencoba untuk menurunkan bendera, dan polisi melepaskan tembakan ke kerumunan massa.
Karma, bersama dengan Yusak Pakage ditangkap pada hari berikutnya. Surat kabar nasional Tempo melaporkan bahwa sebagai protes terhadap penahanannya, Karma mulai melakukan mogok makan dan juga mengikatkan kain putih di mulutnya serta menolak untuk berbicara.
Selama proses persidangan, menurut Human Rights Watch, baik Filep Karma dan Yusak Pakage menantang otoritas pengadilan untuk mengadili mereka, mengklaim bahwa mereka adalah warga Negara Papua Barat, bukan Indonesia. Para pembela juga memprotes ketidaknetralan salah satu hakim, setelah serangkaian pernyataan inflamasi (cenderung memancing kemarahan dan provokatif). Hakim tersebut rupanya mengatakan kepada polisi untuk “Pecahkan saja di kepala Filep kalau dia berulah” dan bahkan berkata kepada seorang perempuan pengunjuk rasa pro-Karma “Kamu mau mati ya?” sambil meninju dan menendang perempuan tersebut. Para pengacara pembela juga menjadi sasaran intimidasi; misalnya dengan meninggalkan kepala anjing terpenggal di teras kantor Lembaga Bantuan Hukum (LBH) Papua di Jayapura dengan sebuah pesan ancaman bertuliskan nama dua orang pengacara yang menangani kasus tersebut.
Demonstrasi besar publik sekali lagi digelar baik di dalam maupun di luar ruang sidang sebagai dukungan terhadap kedua terdakwa. Tekanan terhadap hal ini terjadi pada tanggal 10 Mei, ketika para pendukung yang marah memprotes tuntutan jaksa untuk menghukum lima tahun penjara bagi kedua orang ini. Laporan Human Rights Watch menunjukkan bahwa kaca jendela di ruang sidang dan beberapa kendaraan hancur, dan massa mencoba memblokade kendaraan yang berisi kedua terdakwa sehingga Filep Karma bisa mengatasi massa secara langsung. Namun, kemudian polisi melawan dan setidaknya tiga belas orang termasuk dua anggota polisi terluka dalam bentrokan tersebut. Kepala kepolisian Jayapura dan sepuluh orang anggota polisi lainnya kemudian dicopot jabatannya karena pelanggaran hak asasi manusia yang terjadi selama rangkaian protes tersebut, namun pada persidangan berikutnya, sebanyak 300 orang petugas polisi dikerahkan untuk pengamanan di sekitar pengadilan.
Pada tanggal 26 Mei 2005, Filep Karma dan Yusak Pakage dinyatakan bersalah atas tindakan makar. Hukuman untuk Filep Karma adalah 15 tahun, tiga kali lebih lama dibandingkan tuntutan jaksa yang telah memicu protes kemarahan dua minggu sebelumnya. Untuk mempertahankan keputusan hukuman yang berat itu hakim mengatakan tidak ada faktor yang bisa dipakai untuk mengurangi hukuman tersebut. Upaya banding ke Pengadilan Banding dan Mahkamah Agung tidak membuahkan hasil.
Solidaritas untuk Korban Pelanggaran HAM di Papua (SKPHP) menyatakan bahwa kondisi kesehatan Filep Karma di penjara sangat memprihatinkan setidaknya sejak Agustus 2009, semenjak dia dibawa ke Rumah Sakit Dok II Jayapura karena sakit ginjal. Pihak rumah sakit menyarankan agar ia dirujuk ke Rumah Sakit Cikini di Jakarta untuk ditangani oleh spesialis bedah urologi, tetapi pihak Lembaga Pemasyarakatan menolak untuk membiayai perawatan ini, meskipun secara hukum mereka wajib melakukannya. Sebaliknya, anggota SKPHP di Jayapura dan para aktivis di Manokwari melakukan aksi turun ke jalan-jalan untuk mengumpulkan biaya pengobatan. Dengan cara ini mereka mampu membayar biaya penerbangan dan akomodasi bagi anggota keluarganya yang mendukungnya selama perjalanan. Filep Karma berada di Jakarta sejak tanggal 19-31 Juli 2010. Biaya tagihan pengobatan sebesar RP 60.800.000 sebagian besar dibayarkan oleh LSM internasional (94%), dan sisanya oleh pemerintah Provinsi Papua.
Pada saat para pendukung dikerahkan untuk mengumpulkan dana bagi pengobatannya, Filep Karma bekerja untuk mengangkat perhatian terhadap nasib para tahanan politik lainnya, terutama Ferdinand Pakage yang juga membutuhkan pengobatan untuk cedera dimatanya setelah ia dipukuli oleh petugas sipir penjara. Tabloid Jubi, sebuah surat kabar lokal melaporkan bahwa Filep Karma mengatakan dirinya menolak pergi sendiri ke Jakarta untuk menjalani pengobatan karena Ia ingin pergi bersama dengan Ferdinand Pakage, tetapi pada akhirnya ia terpaksa harus berangkat sendirian. Sebuah pesan yang diterima oleh West Papua Media dari dalam penjara bahkan menunjukkan bahwa Filep Karma memulai mogok makan pada tanggal 5 Oktober 2010, menuntut perhatian medis yang memadai untuk Ferdinand Pakage, meskipun tidak ada laporan yang diterima tentang berapa lama protes ini berlangsung.
Kesehatan Filep Karma terus bermasalah hingga tahun 2012, ketika para dokter lokal merekomendasikan agar ia harus melakukan perjalanan sekali lagi ke Jakarta untuk menjalani kolonoskopi. Siaran pers dari pihak keluarganya yang dipublikasikan oleh West Papua Media menyatakan bahwa sekali lagi negara Indonesia telah menolak untuk membayar untuk perawatan ini. Sekali lagi para pendukung Karma di seluruh Papua dan internasional harus mengumpulkan uang untuk pengobatannya.
Pada tanggal 3 Desember 2010 Filep Karma dipindahkan dari penjara LP Abepura ke tahanan Polda Papua. Hal ini terjadi setelah adanya keributan di dalam penjara, ketika para tahanan mengetahui bahwa salah seorang narapidana bernama Miron Wetipo yang baru saja melarikan diri, telah ditembak mati. Filep Karma, bersama dengan seorang tahanan politik lainnya Buchtar Tabuni beserta tiga orang rekannya dipindahkan ke Polda Papua dan dituduh sebagai pemimpin keributan tersebut. Namun, BUK Papua telah melaporkan Karma dan Tabuni hanya berusaha untuk menegosiasikan sebuah dialog dengan kepala Lembaga Pemasyarakatan (LP) untuk menyelidiki penembakan tersebut dan berusaha mencegah para tahanan untuk tidak merusak penjara. Laporan di surat kabar lokal Tabloid Jubi dan Bintang Papua mengungkapkan bahwa kelima orang tersebut didakwa dengan tindakan pidana pengrusakan berdasarkan Pasal 170 KUHP, dan beberapa hari setelah mereka dipindahkan, para pengacara mereka tidak dapat mengunjungi mereka. Karma sekali lagi melakukan protes dengan mogok makan. Mereka tetap ditahan di kantor polisi sampai dengan tanggal 7 Maret 2011.
Pada tahun 2011 Filep Karma adalah salah satu dari beberapa tahanan politik Papua yang ditawari remisi sebagai bagian dari perayaan hari kemerdekaan Indonesia pada tanggal 17 Agustus. Dia menolak tawaran ini dan mengatakan bahwa dia hanya akan menerima kebebasan tanpa syarat, disertai dengan permintaan maaf kepada rakyat Papua yang telah dibunuh, atau tertindas, atau yang tanah miliknya telah diambil dari mereka. Sebuah video dari penolakan ini dapat dilihat di West Papua Media Alerts.
Karena hukuman sangat panjang yang diterimanya sebagai akibat dari upaya mengekspresikan pandangan-pandangannya secara damai dan mungkin juga tekadnya untuk tetap teguh dengan keyakinannya bahkan ketika berada balik jeruji besi, kasus Filep Karma telah menarik dukungan dari berbagai organisasi internasional dan juga menjadi fokus untuk kampanye terhadap tindakan Indonesia yang represif dalam penerapkan aturan hukum makar. Human Rights Watch telah berulang kali mencatat kasusnya, dan Amnesty International telah menggambarkan dia sebagai seorang Prisoner of conscience setidaknya sejak Februari 2005, dan juga secara konsisten berkampanye untuk pembebasannya. Pada bulan Agustus 2011, 26 anggota Kongres AS menandatangani surat kepada Presiden Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono meminta pembebasannya. Sebuah badan PBB, Kelompok Kerja untuk Penahanan Sewenang-wenang juga telah mengeluarkan pendapat tingkat tinggi tentang kasus Karma, mengklaim bahwa penahanannya merupakan pelanggaran artikel 9, 10, 11 19 dan 20 dari Deklarasi Universal Hak Asasi Manusia, dan menuntut bahwa ia harus segera dibebaskan dan mendapatkan kompensasi.
Ada laporan tentang keluarga Filep Karma menjadi target dan diserang secara fisik. Pada tanggal 6 Juni 2013, Andrefina Karma, putri Filep, diduga ditabrak dengan sengaja di luar rumahnya di Jayapura. Pengendara sepeda motor itu dilaporkan telah menunggu dan memantau di luar rumah ketika Andrefina sedang dalam perjalanan pulang dari kerja. Andrefina ditabrak ketika masuk ke lorong ke rumahnya. Pengendara itu diduga telah mencoba mendekati Andrefina setelah kecelakaan itu, tapi meninggal dengan cepat ketika tetangga yang prihatin datang ke lokasi kejadian.
Pada 19 November 2015, Pak Karma akhirnya dibebaskan lewat remisi dasawarsa. Walaupun Karma sudah menolak grasi atau remisi berkali-kali, akhirnya dia tidak diberikan pilihan untuk menolak, dan pada dasarnya dia langsung dikeluarkan dari penjara. Filep Karma didampingi selama pembebasannya oleh pengacara dia, yaitu Olga Hamadi dari KontraS Papua.
Sumber-sumber
Amnesty International, “Indonesia Prisoners of Conscience Action 2005,” 1 February 2005, https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA21/004/2005/en/8763d4e1-d51c-11dd-8a23-d58a49c0d652/asa210042005en.html
Andreas Harsono, “Belajar Dari Filep Karma,” 24 February 2011, http://www.andreasharsono.net/2010/11/belajar-dari-filep-karma.html
Bintang Papua, “Filep Karma and Buchtar Tabuni to face charges ‘for damaging public property’,” posted in translation by West Papua Media, 16 December 2011, http://westpapuamedia.info/2010/12/16/filep-karma-and-buchtar-tabuni-to-face-charges-for-damaging-public-property/
BUK Papua, “Filep Karma,” 9 August 2010, http://bukpapua.org/?p=19
BUK Papua, “Filef Karma dan Buktar Tabuni Dipindah Ke Kapolda Papua,” 5 December 2005, https://bukpapua.wordpress.com/2010/12/05/filef-karma-dan-buktar-tabuni-dipindah-ke-tahanan-kapolda-papua/
Cenderawasih Pos, “Filep Karma Divonis 6 Tahun Penjara,” 26 January 1999, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/irianjaya/message/536
Eben Kirksey, “What is Indonesia Trying to Hide in West Papua?” 17 October 2012, http://ebenkirksey.blogspot.fr/2012/10/what-is-indonesia-trying-to-hide-in.html
ETAN, “26 Members of the House of Representatives Write Indonesia President to Call for Release of Papuan Prisoner Filep Karma,” 19 August 2011, http://www.etan.org/news/2011/08filepletter.htm
Filep Karma, “Freedom for West-Papua speech,” 2004, posted on Youtube 6 April 2008,
Freedom Now, “United Nations Declares Indonesia’s Detention of Filep Karma a Violation of International Law, Calls for Immediate Release,” 16 November 2011, http://www.freedom-now.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Karma-Press-Release-FINAL2.pdf
Human Rights Watch, “Protest and Punishment – Political Prisoners in Papua,” February 2007, http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/papua0207webwcover.pdf
Human Rights Watch, Indonesia: Human Rights and Pro-Independence Actions in Irian Jaya, 1998,
http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports98/biak/biak.htm
Jubi, “Karma Continues His Hunger Strike,” posted in translation by West Papua Media, 11 December 2011, http://westpapuamedia.info/2010/12/11/karma-continues-his-hunger-strike-komnasham-unable-to-visit-filep-and-buchtar/
Tempointeractif.com, “Filep Karma Masih Mogok Makan dan Bicara,” 11 December 2004, http://www.tempo.co.id/hg/nusa/papua/2004/12/11/brk,20041211-15,id.html
West Papua Media Alerts,” Papuan Prisoner of Conscience Filep Karma in Jakarta for Medical Treatment,” 27 September 2012, http://westpapuamedia.info/2012/09/27/papuan-prisoner-of-conscience-filep-karma-in-jakarta-for-medical-treatment/
West Papua Media Alerts, “Filep Karma Refuses Indonesia’s Remission,” 20 August 2011, http://westpapuamedia.info/2011/08/20/filep-karma-refuses-indonesias-remission/
West Papua Media Alerts, “Emergency: Papuan Political Prisoner Filep Karma refusing to Eat,” 5 October 2010, http://westpapuamedia.info/2010/10/05/emergency-papuan-political-prisoner-filep-karma-refusing-to-eat/