Indra Subagja, Jakarta – The Jakarta metropolitan police have finally released the six activists that took part in a demonstration at the offices of PT Freeport Indonesia at the Plaza 89 Building in Kuningan. They were released because police did not have sufficient grounds to charge them with being provocateurs or having intimidated security personnel. Their status as suspects however remains unchanged.

The six activists from the People’s United Struggle Front for West Papua had earlier been arrested and named suspects by the South Jakarta district police yesterday after a demonstration at the Freeport offices (see Six arrested at Freeport demonstration in Jakarta).

The six are Awing and Ridlo from the Indonesian Legal Aid Association (PBHI), Ari Aryanto from Solidarity Aceh-Papua (SAP), Islah and Rawin from the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi Jakarta) and Ruis from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras). The six were accused of intimidating security personnel and provoking the demonstrators.

“They were released earlier this afternoon because we don’t yet have sufficient evidence”, metropolitan police public relations officer Superintendent Ketut Untung Yoga Ana told journalists at his office on Jl. Sudirman on Wednesday March 1.

According to Untung, police investigators could not keep them in custody because in legal terms they did not have sufficient evidence. “But we are still collecting evidence and conducting and investigation”, he said briefly. (zal)

[Translated by James Balowski.]