JAKARTA, Indonesia — A Polish tourist sentenced Thursday to five years in prison in Indonesia for treason after meeting with Papuan independence supporters said that he was the victim of a show trial. Jakub Skrzypski was arrested in Wamena in the easternmost Papua region in August and accused of plotting against the Indonesian state. The case has highlighted Indonesia’s sensitivity about the volatile Papua region, where the indigenous Melanesian people oppose Indonesian rule and an insurgency has simmered for decades. The government restricts foreign journalists from reporting in its Papua and West Papua provinces. The Papuan independence cause has recently received renewed international attention and diplomatic support from sympathetic Pacific island nations.

Source: National Post May 02, 2019 08:03 UTC