Ferry Gombo is the head of the Student Council at Universitas Cenderawasih (Uncen) in Jayapura. He chaired a meeting on 18 August 2019 at which representatives of almost all West Papuan student and movement organisations were engaged in planning a peaceful protest on 19 August 2019 in Jayapura. Mr Gombo was selected as the protest coordinator, and was responsible for drafting and delivering the protest Notification Letter to Jayapura Police Resort.
He was arrested without arrest warrant on 6 September 2019 by Papua Regional Police at Sentani airport over the 29th August protest.
On 4 October 2019, Ferry Gombo and six other prisoners were transferred from Papua Regional Police Detention Center, Jayapura, Papua Province to East Kalimantan Province for “security reasons”. This transfer was in breach of Indonesian criminal procedure law; it was conducted, inter alia, without informing their lawyers and families, and without the requisite approval from the Supreme Court. Further to these breaches, the transfer has resulted in a significant increase in legal aid costs (due to the airfares needed to attend each trial), and has cut the prisoners off from their families and culture.
He was detained Balikpapan Prison Class IIB, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan Province until his release in July 2020.
