Indonesia extend jail term for foreigner convicted of contact with West Papua independence activists

Indonesia extend jail term for foreigner convicted of contact with West Papua independence activists

Indonesia's supreme court has increased the jail term for a Polish man convicted of treason over his alleged links to separatist fighters in restive West Papua province, raising the sentence to seven years from five. Jakub Skrzypski was jailed in the Highlands regency of Wamena in August 2018, after being found to have consorted with Papuan pro-independence activists. Skrzypski denied the subversion charges, and insists he had been travelling in Papua as a tourist. The European Parliament has described Skrzypski as a political prisoner and called for his transfer back to Poland. Skrzypski is the first foreigner to be found guilty of an attempt to overthrow the Indonesian government and imprisoned under Article 106 of the Indonesian criminal code. This story reflects an intention of Indonesian government to capsulate a conflict with pro-independence forces and represent it as an internal deal.