On 20 July 2024, the Acting Mayor of Jayapura City, Mr Christian Sohilait, was reported to the South Jayapura Police for allegedly beating M., a 42-year-old bus driver, on Entrop-Polimak Road, Jayapura Selatan District, Jayapura City, Papua Province. M. was reportedly washing his car near a ditch on the roadside. The incident sparked significant concern and outrage, given the involvement of a high-ranking public official in the ill-treatment.
Around 09:00 am, M was cleaning his car when a vehicle pulled over. Mr Sohilait allegedly exited the car and punched M in the right ear, causing bruises and swelling. M explained that he was merely washing his car. Despite M’s attempt to placate the mayor, the attack continued. Mr Reinhart Kmur, M’s lawyer, and Mr Emanuel Gobay, the director of the Papuan Legal Aid Institute (LBH Papua), both condemned the physical assault, underscoring the unethical and unprofessional conduct displayed by the official.
In response to the incident, LBH Papua took several legal initiatives to address the ill-treatment. They facilitated a medical examination at Jayapura Dok II Hospital and formally reported the incident to the Jayapura Selatan Sub-district Police (Complaint Report Receipt Letter STPLP/59/VII/2024) (see photo on top, source: Jubi).
LBH Papua is calling for the immediate prosecution of the case by the relevant police authorities and is urging the Acting Governor of Papua to impose administrative sanctions on the Acting Mayor. The lawyers stressed that any internal obstruction of the legal process by police authorities would result in further reporting to higher authorities, such as the Police Profession and Security Division and the National Police Commission (Kompolnas).
An interview with a local news platform Jubi indicated that Mr Soholait showed no signs of regret or sense of wrongdoing. The acting mayor downplayed the severity of the beating, describing it as a necessary action to control illegal parking and maintain order in the city. He claimed that his actions were not an act of persecution but a form of warning. Mr Soholait asserted that the issue was resolved after M apologised. According to Mr Sohilait, external parties had influenced the bus driver to file a police report and criticised LBH Papua for defending the driver without understanding the context.
Detailed Case Data
name of the location: Jayapura Selatan (-2.5621797052183433, 140.69768949283738)
administrative region: Indonesia, Papua Province, Jayapura City
total number of victims: one
period of incident: 20.07.2024
perpetrator: other
perpetrator details: Acting Mayor of Jayapura City, Mr Christian Sohilait
Issues: ill-treatment, indigenous peoples
Sources:
Further HRM News:
| Number | Name, Details | Gender | Age | Group Affiliation | Violations |
| 1 | M, driver | male | 42 | indigenous | ill-treatment |
