Tadeus Weripang is a farmer from Fak-Fak. He had previously been sentenced to seven years in prison in 1982 under the Suharto regime for raising the Morning Star flag, which he served in Jayapura and Surabaya, a profile by Human Rights Watch explains.
He was arrested again on 19th July 2008 at a flag raising event outside the Pepera building in Fak-Fak, West Papua province. A report of the incident from Elsham Papua relates how after the flag was flown for two minutes, the police rounded-up 35 people and took them to the police station. There they were threatened, hit with sticks, and some were kicked by jackboots. The men were forced to strip to their underwear. Another eleven people were also arrested and brought to the police station later. Responding to the arrests, Mr Weripang, together with Simon Tuturop, another former political prisoner and long-time friend of Mr Weripang, came to the police station to claim that they were the ones responsible for the flag-raisings.
Eventually most of the 46 people arrested were released, but nine were held in prison awaiting trial. Six of the accused, including Mr Weripang, faced charges of treason (clauses 106 and 110 of the Indonesian criminal code), and three were charged with the lesser offence of carrying weapons, in the form of traditional knifes or machetes, according to a report posted on the Free West Papua website.
In his trial, Mr. Weripang was sentenced to two years in prison. However, the prosecution appealed the sentence, considering it too lenient and it was subsequently extended to four years, Human Rights Watch relates .
Mr Weripang and the other four men still in prison for this case were freed from prison in December 2011 after serving three years, five months and three days in prison. Andreas Harsono reported on his blog that a convoy of friends and supporters brought him to his home village, kampung Wayati, where people were awaiting his arrival.
Sources
Human Rights Watch, Persecuting Political Aspirations, June 2010, http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/indonesia0610webwcover_0.pdf
Laporan Elsham Papua Pos Kontak Fak-Fak, 19th July 2008, http://www.hampapua.org/skp/skp06/var-23i.pdf
Free West Papua, 22nd July 2008, http://www.freewestpapua.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=735&Itemid=29
Andreas Harsono, 23rd December 2011, Tapol Papua dibebaskan di Papua, http://www.andreasharsono.net/2011/12/tapol-papua-dibebaskan-di-fakfak.html
