Wiki Meaga was arrested on 20 November 2010 on his way to the funeral of a relative in Piramid village near Bokondini in the Central Highlands of West Papua. The relative had fallen ill after being tortured by police a few months earlier and had subsequently died. According to local newspaper Tabloid Jubi, a group of nine men, including Mr Meaga, were arrested on their way to the funeral, because they had allegedly raised the Morning Star flag in Yalengga village before they left.

According to a court document (see below), Mr Meaga was arrested along with Toebaga Kilunga, Meki Tabuni, Wombi Tabuni, Obeth Kosay, Pastor Ali Jikwa, Oskar Hilago, Meki Elosak and Peres Tabuni. Only information relating to the cases of the first six of these men has been made available so far.

According to another Jubi report, local people said that the nine men were tortured when they were arrested. The police, who stated that the arrested people belong to a group called the ‘West Papua Revolutionary Army,’ denied the torture, according to a report in Tempo magazine.

Although the case was widely reported when it happened, due to it coinciding with a visit of the Indonesian President to Papua, there are no further media or NGO reports about subsequent charges, trial or imprisonment of the suspects. However, the decision of Wamena District Court against six of the nine people arrested (Obeth Kosay, Teobaga Kilungga, Wombi Tabuni, Wiki Meaga, Ali Jikwa and Meki Tabuni) has been published by the Supreme Court, which upheld the verdict on appeal. The document reveals that the prosecution accused the nine men of bringing a Morning Star flag mounted on a pole to Yalengga so that the deceased relative (named as Marthen Wenda) could be buried next to the Papuan flag. They were arrested before they reached Mr Wenda’s residence, where mourning was underway. A brief reference is made to the flag having been planted in the ground at the moment of their arrest, and several letters were apparently found by police referring to a ‘Tim 1000’ of delegates from the OPM assigned to meet with the Indonesian president.

According to the court report, these accusations constitute the crime for which the six men were each sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for treason.

The trial records of the other three men (whose names are given here as Oskar Hilago, Meki Elosak and Peres Tabuni) have not been made available.

A report in the Cenderawasih Pos claimed that Pastor Ali Yikwa and Toebaga Kilungga were among 42 prisoners who reportedly escaped Wamena Prison in a mass breakout on 4 June 2012. By February 2013, information from Papuan lawyers in contact with Wamena prison authorities confirmed that Peres Tabuni, Meki Tabuni and Wombi Tabuni were no longer in prison. Whether they were released or escaped in June 2012 is unknown.

In July 2014, lawyers from the Democracy Alliance for Papua (Aliansi Demokrasi untuk Papua, ALDP) reported that the clemencies for Meki Elosak and Wiki Meaga were being considered at the Indonesian State Secretariat (Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia, Setneg).

Sources

Tabloid Jubi, 26th November 2010, http://tabloidjubi.com/daily-news/seputar-tanah-papua/9888-kapolres-jayawijaya-qno-commentq-soal-bintang-kejora.html

Tabloid Jubi, 23rd November 2010, http://www.infopapua.org/WPB/index.php/home/459-di-jayawijaya-8-warga-sipil-disiksa-polisi

Tempo, 22nd November 2010, http://www.tempo.co.id/hg/nasional/2010/11/22/brk,20101122-293443,uk.html

Mahkamah Agung Republik Indonesia, Decision 38/Pid.B/2011/PN.Wmn. http://putusan.mahkamahagung.go.id/putusan/downloadpdf/a9415fbd56b547e11f5d19fb224c6c98/pdf

Cenderawasih Pos, 5th June 2012, Serang Petugas, 42 Napi Lapas Wamena Kabur, http://www.cenderawasihpos.com/index.php?mib=berita.detail&id=5686

Updated: 29 June 2015 Meki Elosak ditangkap pada 20 November 2010 dalam perjalanan menghadiri sebuah pemakaman sanak saudaranya di kampung Piramid dekat Bokondini, daerah dataran tinggi puncak jaya. Saudaranya yang telah meninggal tersebut jatuh sakit setelah disiksa pihak kepolisian beberapa bulan sebelumnya dan akhirnya meninggal dunia. Menurut berita harian setempat Tabloid Jubi, sekelompok 9 orang, termasuk Elosak, ditangkap dalam perjalanan menuju pemakanan karena diduga mengibarkan bendera bintang kejora di kampung Yalengga sebelum mereka pulang.

Menurut dokumen pengadilan (lihat terlampir), Elosak ditahan beserta dengan Toebaga Kilunga, Meki Tabuni, Wombi Tabuni, Miki Meaga, Pastor Ali Jikwa, Oskar Hilago, Obeth Kosay dan Peres Tabuni. Informasi tentang kasus Oskar Hilago, Peres Tabuni dan Meki Elosak belum ditemukan.

Menurut laporan lainnya dari tabloid Jubi, penduduk setempat mengatakan bahwa 9 orang tersebut disiksa saat mereka tertangkap. Pihak kepolisian menyangkal kenyataan tersebut dan menyebut bahwa mereka yang tertangkap adalah anggota kelompok “Tentara Pembebasan Papua Barat”, menurut laporan dari majalah Tempo.

Walaupun kasus ini diberitakan secara luas saat terjadi, namun karena waktunya bertepatan dengan kunjungan Presiden Indonesia ke Papua, tidak ada laporan lanjutan dari media – media dan LSM – LSM tentang dakwaan, peradilan, ataupun penahanan pada tersangka. Akan tetapi, keputusan Pengadilan Daerah Wamena terhadap enak dari kesembilan tersangka (Obeth Kosay, Toebaga Kilungga, Wombo Tabuni, Wiki Meaga, Ali Jikwa, dan Meki Tabuni) telah diterbitkan oleh Mahkamah Agung yang menolak putusan untuk naik banding. Dokumen tersebut menunjukkan bahwa 9 tersangka tersebut dituntut karena membawa bendera bintang kejora yang hendak dikibarkan di sekitar makan sanak saudara yang meninggal tersebut (Marthen Wenda) agar badannya dikubur disebelah bendera Papua. Mereka ditangkap sebelum dapat sampai ke rumah Bapak Wenda yang sedang berkabung. Dokumen tersebut juga menyebut sedikit tentang bendera tersebut sempat dikibarkan saat mereka ditangkap, dan juga beberapa kalimat menerangkan tentang delegasi “Tim 1000” dari OPM untuk bertemu dengan Presiden Indonesia.

Menurut laporan pengadilan, kegiatan mereka itu merupakan suatu tidak kriminal, dimana 6 diantara mereka masing – masing dihukum 6 tahun penjara untuk makar. Dokumen pengadilan dari 3 orang lainnya, Oskar Hilago, Meki Elosak, dan Peres Tabuni, belum tersedia sama sekali.

Laporan dari Cenderawasih Pos menunjukkan bahwa Pastor Ali Yikwa dan Toebaga Kilungga termasuk diantara 42 tahanan yang dilaporkan kabur dari LP Wamena pada tanggal 4 Juni 2012. Pada bulan Februari 2013, informasi diterima oleh pengacara HAM di Papua Barat dari pihak LP Wamena mengkonfirmasi bahwa Obeth Kosay, Oskar Hilago, Meki Elosak dan Wiki Meaga masih ada di dalam penjara, sedangkan Peres Tabuni, Meki Tabuni dan Wombi Tabuni tidak ada di penjara lagi. Apakah mereka dibebaskan atau melarikan diri pada pulan Juni 2012 belum diketahui.

Sources

Tabloid Jubi, 26th November 2010, http://tabloidjubi.com/daily-news/seputar-tanah-papua/9888-kapolres-jayawijaya-qno-commentq-soal-bintang-kejora.html

Tabloid Jubi, 23rd November 2010, http://www.infopapua.org/WPB/index.php/home/459-di-jayawijaya-8-warga-sipil-disiksa-polisi

Tempo, 22nd November 2010, http://www.tempo.co.id/hg/nasional/2010/11/22/brk,20101122-293443,uk.html

Mahkamah Agung Republik Indonesia, Decision 38/Pid.B/2011/PN.Wmn. http://putusan.mahkamahagung.go.id/putusan/downloadpdf/a9415fbd56b547e11f5d19fb224c6c98/pdf

Cenderawasih Pos, 5th June 2012, Serang Petugas, 42 Napi Lapas Wamena Kabur, http://www.cenderawasihpos.com/index.php?mib=berita.detail&id=5686

Last updated: 9 January 2013

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