On 1 September 2026, security forces carried out an operation in the Kali Biru residential area around the former Election Commission Office (KPU), Dekai District, Yahukimo Regency, Papua Highlands Province. Local human rights defenders reported that six civilians were reportedly arrested and taken to the Yahukimo Police Station. A seventh person, Mr Meck Salak, reportedly sustained a gunshot wound to his left arm. Security force personnel reportedly shot dead four members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) during the same operation.
According to information collected by local human rights defenders, approximately five operational vehicles arrived in the residential area at around 5:00 pm. Witness accounts alleged that security personnel opened fire before arresting the six residents. On of the shots reportedly pierced Meck Salak’s left forearm (see photos and videos below, source: independent HRD). Mr Yefri Kabak, 26, Mr Daniel Kabak, 19, Mr Asa Salak, 20, Mr Meki Salak, 40, Mr Pace Kambui (30), and16-year-old P. M. were detained without showing a warrant and subsequently brought in security-force vehicles to the Yahukimo Police Station in Dekai.
The Damai Cartenz Operation Task Force and Yahukimo Police presented a substantially different account on 2 September 2026. Police stated that personnel had arrived at approximately 4:35 pm after receiving information that members of the TPNPB Kodap XVI Yahukimo, Batalyon Eden Sawi, were gathering at a house near the former KPU office on Miyaro Road. According to police, personnel came under gunfire when entering the area, fired warning shots and subsequently returned fire after armed individuals continued shooting whilst retreating towards the forest. Police reported that four alleged TPNPB members were killed and that one homemade long-barrel firearm, eleven rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition and three mobile phones were seized. TPNPB later confirmed that four of their members had been killed in combat.
Police also confirmed that six people were taken into custody. Police spokesperson Commissioner Yusuf Sutejo stated that investigators were examining their identities, activities, roles and possible links with the armed group and had not yet reached conclusions concerning their status.
Human rights and legal analysis
The detention of the six residents raises serious concerns under Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protects every person against arbitrary arrest and detention and requires authorities to inform arrested persons immediately of the reasons for their arrest and promptly of any charges against them. Police officers need to carry out arrests and detentions based on criminal procedure, with an individualised and lawful basis for arrest, such as an arrest warrant and/or sufficient incriminating evidence required by law.
These requirements are reinforced by Indonesia’s new Criminal Procedure Code, Law No. 20 of 2025, which has been in force since 2 January 2026. Article 94 requires an arrest to be based on at least two items of evidence. Article 95 requires investigators to show their official assignment and provide an arrest warrant stating the suspect’s identity, the reason for arrest, the alleged offence and the place of examination. An arrest warrant is not required where a person is caught in the act, but the person and associated evidence must then immediately be handed to an investigator. Article 96 limits arrest to 1 × 24 hours, whilst continued detention requires a separate lawful basis and corresponding detention order. According to the information received, the six detained individuals were neither caught committing an offence nor arrested on the basis of sufficient individualised evidence and the required documentation. Their deprivation of liberty may therefore potentially amount to an arbitrary arrest contrary to Indonesian law and Article 9 ICCPR.
Particular concern arises regarding P.M., aged 16. Under Article 30 of Law No. 11 of 2012 on the Juvenile Criminal Justice System, the arrest of a child for investigative purposes may last no longer than 24 hours, must be conducted humanely with due regard to the child’s age and needs, and the child must be accommodated in a designated child facility or appropriate social-welfare institution. Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child further requires that the arrest or detention of a child be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period, with prompt access to legal assistance and the ability to challenge the lawfulness of detention.
The firearm use reported during the operation potentially engages the right to life under Article 6 ICCPR. Indonesian authorities themselves publicly described the action as a law-enforcement operation. Under international law-enforcement standards, firearms may only be used where necessary in response to an imminent threat of death or serious injury, and intentional lethal force is permissible only when strictly unavoidable to protect life. If the police account of incoming gunfire is substantiated, the use of proportionate force against persons presenting an imminent lethal threat may have been justified.
The deaths of four persons during the operation and the shooting injury sustained by Mr Meck Salak trigger an obligation to conduct a prompt, effective, impartial and transparent investigation capable of determining the sequence of fire, the identity of personnel who discharged weapons, the weapons and ammunition used, whether each use of potentially lethal force was necessary and proportionate, and whether medical assistance was provided without delay. The investigation should preserve ballistic and forensic evidence and comply, where applicable, with the investigative standards contained in the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016).
Detailed Case Data
Document ID: HRM-CAS-118-2026
Location: Dekai, Yahukimo regency, Highland Papua, Indonesia (-4.8638158, 139.4837298) Kali Biru
Region: Indonesia > Highland Papua > Yahukimo > Dekai
Total number of victims: 7
#
Number of Victims
Name, Details
Gender
Age
Group Affiliation
Violations
1.
1
Meck Salak
male
adult
Activist, Indigenous Peoples
ill-treatment
2.
1
Yefri Kabak
male
19
Indigenous Peoples
arbitrary detention
3.
1
Daniel Kabak
male
20
Indigenous Peoples
arbitrary detention
4.
1
Asa Salak
male
40
Indigenous Peoples
arbitrary detention
5.
1
Meki Salak
male
30
Indigenous Peoples
arbitrary detention
6.
1
Pace Kambui
male
16
Indigenous Peoples
arbitrary detention
7.
1
P.M.
male
0
Indigenous Peoples
arbitrary detention
Perpetrator: Republic Indonesia > Indonesian Security Forces
Issues: indigenous peoples, security force violence
Sources:
INews.ID
Tribun News
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