On 15 September 2026, Indonesian police arbitrarily detained school pupils and university students, used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations, and obstructed access to legal assistance during protests against the Free Nutritious Meals Programme (Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG) in Jayapura City and Jayapura Regency, Papua province. The protests took place against a backdrop of mounting concern over repeated food-poisoning incidents linked to the MBG. During a working meeting between Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) and the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) on 3 September 2026, parliamentarians cited government surveillance data indicating that more than 50,000 people had been affected by MBG-related food poisoning across 36 provinces and 245 regencies and cities as of 2 September 2026.
The principal incidents occurred around Taruna Bakti High School and Perumnas III in Waena, Jayapura City, as well as Pos 7 Sentani in Sentani District, Jayapura Regency. A Jayapura District Police representative stated that 78 pupils had been taken into custody in Sentani. Police officers apprehended another 26 pupils and university students in Perumnas III Waena and detained them at the Jayapura City police headquarters. At least 22 detainees were identified by name. Among the identified detainees alone, at least 14 were minors. Following the arbitrary detention, legal aid lawyer, Mr Imanus Komba, was reportedly choked, pushed and dragged by police officers at the Sentani Sub-District Police station while attempting to provide legal assistance to detained pupils.
Chronology of events
According to information collected from protest participants, the demonstrations were organised by the West Papua Student Solidarity (SPWP) under the slogan “Stop the MBG Programme and Provide Free Education”. Simultaneous protests in other cities across West Papua, such as Nabire, Wamena and Dekai, took place without police interventions and remained peaceful. Pupils from several schools began moving from their assembly points shortly after 07:00 am. At approximately 07:30 am, police personnel reportedly intercepted pupils from SMAN 7 Jayapura and Taruna Bakti High School in Waena, allegedly beat protesters and forcibly dispersed the gathering without meaningful prior negotiation.
Five Cenderawasih University (UNCEN) students were subsequently detained after university students protested against the police intervention, while the chairperson of the UNCEN Student Executive Board (BEM UNCEN) was reportedly beaten after approaching officers to ask why fellow students had been arrested. Negotiations involving protesters, school representatives and local officials continued during the morning. At approximately 2:22 pm, police officers moved against protesters in the Perumnas III area, allegedly beating demonstrators, forcibly dispersing the assembly and detaining another 26 pupils and university students (see photos below, source: independent HRD) at the Jayapura City police headquarters. Contemporary media reporting independently confirmed the forced dispersal in Perumnas III, Waena.
A parallel police operation took place in Sentani, Jayapura Regency, particularly around Pos 7. The Jayapura District Police presented a substantially different figure, stating that 78 pupils had been taken into custody and subsequently released after being registered. Police Chief AKBP Dionisius V.D.P. Helan denied that the pupils had been detained or beaten, characterising the intervention as a protective measure intended to keep children at school and maintain public order. The statement strongly contradicts video material showing police officers beating up protesting pupils, recorded during the police crackdown (see videos below, source: independent HRD). LBH Papua alleged that the number of detained pupils at Sentani Kota Police Station reached 140 persons. One detainee named AF has been criminally charged for alleged possession of sharp items while two other detainees named EBS and HB remain under criminal investigation. Most detainees were released on 15 September in the afternoon. LBH reports that six pupils were held until on 16 September.
The treatment of Mr Imanus Komba and other PBH LBH Papua lawyers raises additional concerns. LBH Papua stated that its lawyers attended Sentani Kota Police Station with authorisations to represent detained pupils but were prevented from providing legal assistance. Mr Komba reported that he was choked around the neck, forcibly pushed and dragged, while other legal representatives were allegedly subjected to similar intimidating treatment.
Human rights analysis
The deprivation of liberty of pupils and students solely because they participated in a peaceful demonstration raises serious concerns under Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). A detention may comply formally with domestic procedures yet still be arbitrary where it is unnecessary, disproportionate or imposed as punishment for exercising a protected right. International human rights standards specifically recognise that arrest or detention imposed in response to the legitimate exercise of freedom of expression or peaceful assembly may constitute arbitrary detention. The reported detention of children before or during a peaceful demonstration therefore requires the authorities to demonstrate a specific and lawful basis for each individual deprivation of liberty rather than relying on general concerns about school attendance or potential disruption.
The circumstances also engage the right of peaceful assembly under Article 21 ICCPR and freedom of expression under Article 19 ICCPR. The UN Human Rights Committee has emphasised that authorities bear the burden of demonstrating that restrictions on an assembly are lawful, necessary and proportionate, and that prohibiting an assembly should be a measure of last resort. Authorities should facilitate peaceful assemblies rather than seek to discourage participation through unnecessary restrictions. Indonesian Law No. 9 of 1998 on Freedom of Expression in Public similarly establishes a framework for public demonstrations and places responsibility on the Indonesian National Police to protect participants and maintain security in accordance with applicable procedures. The law requires notification of public demonstrations, but does not establish an unrestricted police discretion to suppress peaceful expression merely because authorities disagree with the demonstration or consider participation during school hours undesirable.
Blocking roads or causing temporary disruption does not in itself remove an assembly from the protection of Article 21. International standards recognise that peaceful assemblies may involve a degree of disruption to ordinary life, including movement and traffic. Forceful dispersal must therefore remain exceptional and must satisfy strict requirements of legality, necessity and proportionality. The alleged beatings are particularly concerning because the available information does not indicate that the protesters presented an imminent threat of serious violence requiring the reported level of force. Even where dispersal is legally justified, law-enforcement personnel remain bound by the principles of necessity, proportionality, precaution and accountability.
The alleged beatings of pupils, university students and the BEM UNCEN chairperson, together with the alleged choking and physical handling of lawyer Imanus Komba, engage Article 7 ICCPR and Indonesia’s obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Police officers may use force only where strictly necessary for a legitimate law-enforcement objective and only to the minimum extent required. Force may never be used as punishment for participation in a demonstration, for questioning police conduct, or for attempting to provide legal assistance. Credible allegations of unnecessary or excessive force trigger an obligation to conduct a prompt, effective, independent and impartial investigation capable of identifying individual perpetrators as well as any relevant command responsibility.
The detention and reported physical ill-treatment of children require particularly stringent scrutiny. Articles 3 and 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) require the best interests of the child to be a primary consideration and provide that the arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child must be lawful, used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period. Articles 12, 13 and 15 CRC additionally protect children’s rights to express their views, freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association. Participation in a public debate about a programme directly affecting school pupils falls squarely within the exercise of these rights. The State’s obligation to protect children cannot therefore be interpreted as a general authority to prevent children from expressing political or social views through peaceful assembly.
The events at Sentani Kota Police Station also raise concerns regarding the right of access to legal assistance. The reported conduct of police officers does not only constitute potential ill-treatment but would interfere with detainees’ access to legal representation and undermine lawyers’ ability to perform their professional functions independently. The fact that many detainees were children makes prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance particularly important. Preventing authorised lawyers from meeting or assisting detained persons, particularly children, may undermine safeguards against arbitrary detention and ill-treatment. Indonesian Law No. 16 of 2011 on Legal Aid, together with international standards on the role of lawyers, reinforces the authorities’ obligation to ensure meaningful access to legal assistance rather than obstruct it.
LBH Papua lawyer, Imanus Komba, recorded this video shortly after being choked, pushed and dragged by police officers at the Polsek Sentani Kota while attempting to provide legal assistance to detained pupils, 15 September 2026
Police officers beat protesting students in Perumnas III Waena, Jayapura City, on 15 September 2026
Police officers apprehended more than a hundred of protesting students and detained them at the Sentani Sub-district-Police Station and the Jayapura City Police headquarters on 15 September 2026
Detailed Case Data
Document ID: HRM-CAS-120-2026
Location: Jayapura Regency, Papua, Indonesia (-2.987923, 139.8547266) Sentani and Jayapura
Regions:
Indonesia > Papua > Jayapura > Heram
Indonesia > Papua > Jayapura Regency > Sentani
Total number of victims: dozens
#
Number of Victims
Name, Details
Gender
Age
Group Affiliation
Violations
1.
14
mixed
minor
Indigenous Peoples, Student
arbitrary detention, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression
2.
64
mixed
adult
Indigenous Peoples, Student
arbitrary detention, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression
3.
dozens
mixed
minor
Indigenous Peoples, Student
freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, ill-treatment
4.
26
mixed
unknown
Indigenous Peoples, Student
arbitrary detention, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression
5.
1
Imanus Komba
male
adult
Indigenous Peoples, Lawyer
freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, ill-treatment, intimidation
Perpetrator: Republic Indonesia > Indonesian Security Forces > Indonesian Police > Provincial Police (POLDA)
Perpetrator details: Polda Papua
Issues: human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, security force violence, women and childrenRelated Cases:
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