Simon Magal is a Papuan student activist, who completed his Bachelor of International Relations at one of the universities in Yogyakarta in 2016. He was preparing to continue his post-graduate studies in Australia, before he was arrested at a shop in Timika City by the Special Team of the Papua Regional Police on 1 September 2018. His arrest was a continuation of the development of a foreign national case, Jakob Fabian Skrzypski who was arrested in Wamena. The police accused Simon of being involved in treason for communicating with Jakob regarding the process of buying and shipping weapons. To continue the investigation, Simon was then detained at the Jayapura Port Police Station.
In addition to Simon being arrested without an arrest warrant, he was also not accompanied by a lawyer during the investigation. Simon’s family had no idea of his whereabouts. They were not allowed to meet Simon in detention. On 27 November 2018, they finally met Simon for the first time.
Simon was flown to Wamena on 2 November 2018, after the Papua Regional Police handed over his case to the Jayawijaya District Procurator. He was taken into custody at the Wamena Penitentiary to wait for the trial process. Based on security considerations, Simon was then sent to the Jayawijaya Regional police detention center. Simon’s detention period was extended until 21 December 2018 because the case files had not been transferred to the Wamena District Court.
After the trial schedule was twice delayed , Simon’s initial trial finally began on 14 January 2019. The Public Prosecutor charged Simon Magal with a sentence of 10 years in prison on the 11 April 2019. Given the transportation costs that Simon’s family had to bear, the attorney submitted a request that Simon can be tried in Jayapura. This request was rejected by the Papua High Prosecutor’s Office.
Mr Magal was sentenced to 4 years in jail in 2019 and currently serving his sentence in Timika Class IIb Prison.
The trial process of Simon Carlos Magal is still ongoing in the Wamena District Court.
