A New Zealand pilot who was taken hostage by rebels in the forests of West Papua has finally been released after 19 months in captivity.
Phillip Mehrtens was seized by the West Papua Liberation Army (TPNPB) after he landed a small commercial plane in the mountainous province of Nduga, found in Indonesia‘s western half of New Guinea, on February 7, 2023.
The 38-year-old will finally return home to his wife and young son after he was this week released at a remote village in central Papua, according to Indonesian authorities.
Mr Mehrtens was flown to a police headquarters building in the town of Timika where he has undergone a medical assessment, the ABC reports.
He is in good health according to Indonesian police who released a picture of gaunt Mr Mehrtens with a scraggly beard talking to officers who secured his release.
The former Jetstar pilot previously appeared a chilling hostage video released by the West Papuan fighters in February.
‘It’s me,’ Mr Mehrtens said in that video with a nervous chuckle, before adding a few words of encouragement to his wife Maria and six-year-old son Jacob.
‘I’m OK, they are treating me well… I’m trying to stay positive and I hope that you and Jacob are healthy and doing OK and getting support,’ he said.
‘I love you both lots and miss you both lots and hope to be able to talk with you soon.’
Phillip Mehrtens has been released (pictured) after he was abducted by the West Papua Liberation Army 19 months ago
Mr Mehrtens was working for an Indonesian aviation company on February 7 last year when he was seized after landing his single-engine Susi Air plane on a remote airstrip in the mountainous province of Nduga, found in Indonesia ‘s western half of New Guinea
The pilot went on to explain he had met with the ‘komandant’, likely a reference to Egianus Kogoya, a commander in the rebel West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB) that is fighting the Indonesian annexation of the territory.
Mr Mehrtens said he would also talk to the komandant about making a phone call to his family. It was not clear if this phone call was ever made.
In a second video, Mehrtens appeared to address the New Zealand government and asks for some supplies to ease his time in captivity.
‘Can you please help to get one or two ventolin inhalers just so that I have them available in case I get some asthma and, if possible, can I please get an e-book reader like a Kindle with as many English books as possible.
‘That would be very much appreciated,’ he said.
Indonesian authorities released a picture of Mr Mehrtens with police officers who secured his release
The New Zealand pilot earlier appeared in a ‘proof of life’ video in which he said he was trying to remain positive
A day after Mehrtens was captured, the group said in a video that he ‘will die here’ like ‘the rest of us’ if the Indonesian army tried to rescue him.
Rebel separatists’ spokesperson Sebby Sambom wrote on Facebook that Mr Mehrtens will be held hostage for negotiations with Indonesia – but warned that if Jakarta refused to negotiate or intervened militarily then the pilot ‘will be executed’.
Sambom said at the time that the rebels would ‘never release’ Mr Mehrtens unless Jakarta made the Papua region independent from Indonesia.
But the Indonesian government stood firm, saying Papua will ‘forever remain a legitimate part’ of Indonesia.
Two months ago, the separatist rebels threatened to execute Mr Mehrtens if their demands were not met, though he appears to remain alive.
TPNPB’s leader, named as Egianus Kogeya by Indonesian outlets and who is described by some as ‘a psychopath’, told the camera at the time that Mehrtens will be shot dead within two months if their demands are not met.
The group has fought a guerrilla war for the withdrawal of Indonesia from the province once known as Irian Jaya, which it has controlled since 1963 when it took over the Dutch occupied colony lucrative for its spices and slave trading.
Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a UN-sponsored referendum widely seen as a sham. Since then, a low-level insurgency has simmered in the mineral-rich region, which is divided into two provinces, Papua and West Papua.
In April last year, TPNPB fighters killed six Indonesian fighters who were part of a force that attempted to rescue Mehrtens from captivity.
Military leaders had narrowed down the New Zealander’s location but were attacked by the rebel group on April 15.
Military reports stated at least six people died, and 21 others fled into the jungle.
It was reported at the time that one soldier fell into a deep ravine and died, while others came under attack trying to rescue him.
The group from the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), seized Mr Mehrtens before setting fire to his plane on the runway in Paro in the remote Nduga district on February 7 (pictured)
Mr Mehrtens met his wife Maria in Indonesia, before the couple moved to New Zealand and settled in Auckland after the pilot began flying for Jetstar.
The couple then returned to live in Indonesia when he recommenced employment with Susi Air, founded in 2004, which operates a fleet of 50 aircraft.
Separatist rebels kidnapped him after they stormed a single-engine Indonesian Susi Airlines plane shortly after it landed on a small runway in February.
He was scheduled to evacuate 15 construction workers building a health centre in the district after the separatist rebels threatened to kill them.
‘Our plan to evacuate the workers angered the rebels, who responded by setting fire to the plane and seizing the pilot,’ said Nduga district chief Namia Gwijangge, who was one of the passengers.
‘We deeply regret this incident.’
The rebels released all five passengers because they were indigenous Papuans, rebel spokesman Sebby Sambom said at the time.