Kiwi pilot Phillip Mehrtens hostage drama in Papua: Inside the mission to bring him home

New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens was taken hostage by Papua independence rebels in February 2023 and spent more than 18 months in captivity. Composite Photo / NZME

In February 2023, New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens was kidnapped by armed rebels in Indonesia’s volatile Papua region. He would spend 594 days in captivity before he was finally released, after a fraught, behind-closed-doors diplomatic effort. Briefing papers obtained by the Herald reveal the delicate tightrope officials walked in getting him home. Kurt Bayer reports on a long walk to freedom.

Surrounded by dense hilly jungle and armed rebels wielding automatic weapons, spears, bows and arrows, Phillip Mehrtens cut a forlorn figure.

Wearing a soiled denim jacket and black Papua independence T-shirt, he stares into the camera as one camo-clad captor holds a hand while another clasps his wrist.

It had been a week since the Christchurch-born Mehrtens' freedom was brutally snatched away from him.

And the New Zealand Government, with no idea where in the remote, unruly region he was, was seemingly being held to ransom.

“I took him hostage for Papua independence, not for food or drinks,” one of the rebel leaders says in the video. “He will be safe with me as long as Indonesia does not use its arms, either from the air or on the ground.”

Phillip Mehrtens photographed with his rebel captors in February 2023.

It was the first of many demands made by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) insurgent group – designated as terrorists by the Indonesian Government – in videos of their Kiwi hostage.

And it would take a protracted response, led by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) officials, along with a hastily put-together Papua Hostage Taskforce, more than 18 months to secure Mehrtens’ safe release.

In previously-restricted documents obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act, the story of how the New Zealand Government worked to get Mehrtens home can be told for the first time.

It was a drawn-out affair that Foreign Minister Winston Peters would later admit was “nerve-racking”.

Mehrtens, a 38-year-old well-respected, experienced pilot from Canterbury, had been living in Bali with his wife and son for a number of years.

He had been working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he landed a small single-engine commercial passenger plane at the isolated Paro airport in Ndguga, the centre of the growing Papua insurgency in the highlands of Indonesia’s West Papua region, on February 7, 2023.

After landing, his plane was suddenly surrounded. Gunmen from the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) insurgent group emerged from the jungle and ordered Mehrtens out of the cockpit. All five of his indigenous Papuan passengers, including a young child, were released.

His plane was torched on the spot.

Mehrtens disappeared.

Mehrtens' plane was torched after he was kidnapped. Photo / Supplied

Soon after the ambush, a spokesman for the rebels issued a statement, saying they had grabbed Mehrtens because New Zealand – like Australia and the US - had co-operated militarily with Indonesia.

“We will never release the pilot we are holding hostage unless Indonesia recognises and frees Papua from Indonesian colonialism,” said TPNPB spokesman Sebby Sambom.

According to a situation update document released under the OIA, the group listed ways New Zealand could support recognition for their movement in the United Nations.

But there was little that could be done on that front.

Although the Government’s response would be underpinned by a 2008 Cabinet Framework on hostage-taking that would always put the “well-being and safety” of the New Zealand citizen at the heart of its response, they couldn’t cave into threats.

The official framework stipulates that the New Zealand Government “does not agree to demands from hostage takers for payment of ransoms, or modification of our foreign, defence or security policies”.

Instead, it would take a careful “consular response”, which would be led by MFAT officials.

Papua rebels posed with Mehrtens several times in videos and images the group released.

The day after Mehrtens was snatched, the Officials’ Committee for Domestic and External Security Co-ordination (ODESC) system was formally activated.

A Wellington-based “Papua Hostage Taskforce” was set up dealing with the New Zealand Embassy in Indonesia’s bustling capital city of Jakarta some 7700km away who were engaging “with the Indonesian system at a range of levels to reiterate the importance of a peaceful outcome”.

A two-person “Emergency Response Team” would also make regular forays to the Papua mining city of Timika, but as documents clearly show, there were “significant geographical and political challenges” at play.

Just where Mehrtens was being held was unknown, but they knew he was somewhere in the highlands; a remote, mountainous area, with dense tropical jungle and cold temperatures at altitude. The area is home to 276 living languages, with different dialects and tribal factions.

Electronic communications are limited and “couriers” on foot are often used to deliver messages and supplies.

“Even that is challenging as we understand the hostage-takers are constantly on the move to avoid discovery,” says a “Papua Hostage Situation” update obtained by the Herald.

“TPNPB itself is highly fragmented, with factions split along tribal and sub-regional boundaries and significant distrust between groups. The area is inhospitable for anyone who is not local. These factors mean it is very difficult to verify information.”

Every Tuesday and Friday updates were going across the desks at various agencies, including the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

It was never clear just where Mehrtens was being held.

It soon emerged that the group of hostage-takers were operating autonomously within the TPNPB and, according to one situation report, was known for “impulsive and politically motivated acts of violence”.

And just a month into the hostage crisis, the seriousness of Mehrtens’ plight became even clearer to the Government. Another video, released on March 10, 2023, showed him well but reiterated demands for Papuan independence.

“However, his location remains unknown,” a Taskforce update said.

“The risks associated with this situation are significant. The risk of welfare of [Mehrtens] is our primary concern and all efforts are focused on preventing his death, injury or ill-health, to the extent we can.”

By now, Mehrtens’ family would have grown increasingly worried about his fate too.

His rebel captors gave little away, despite regular video updates to show that his health and wellbeing were their “top priority” and that he was not being mistreated.

The images that were released showed Mehrtens surrounded by separatist fighters armed with assault rifles and bows and arrows with a backdrop of mountains.

Mehrtens often appeared smiling in the videos. But just how relaxed and calm he was, or whether it was a show for the cameras, was not clear.

At one stage during his captivity, Mehrtens appealed to the Indonesian military not to bomb villages.

But in May 2023, things took an even more concerning turn.

The kidnappers said they would kill the Kiwi pilot if their independence demands were not met. They gave a two-month deadline.

Officially, the Government said they were doing everything they could to get Mehrtens home. But no details were given.

Behind the scenes, New Zealand diplomats and officials – with Australia largely absent from the closed-doors discussions - were plainly worried.

“While there is uncertainty about the seriousness of the intent behind the ‘deadline’ contained in the 26 May video and what the timeframe means, we cannot ignore the direct threat to [Mehrtens'] life,” said one situation update.

The deadline came and went. But the situation remained fraught.

“While we have received repeated assurances from Indonesian authorities that [Mehrtens] is alive, we have not sighted conclusive evidence of his condition since 26 May,” a September 14, 2023 update to ministers said.

Around that time, then-Prime Minister Chris Hipkins issued a public plea for his safe release, calling Mehrtens a “much-loved father, husband, brother and son”.

“As a pilot, he was helping to provide vital air links to connect remote communities in Papua,” Hipkins said, who added there was “absolutely no justification for taking hostages”. “The longer Phillip is held the more the risk there is to his wellbeing and the harder this becomes for him and his family,” he said.

Then-Prime Minister Chris Hipkins called for Mehrtens' safe release in September 2023. Photo / Mark Mitchell

“Phillip’s safety and wellbeing remains our top priority. I am limited as to what else I can say publicly about the matter at this time but I want to once again extend our support to Phillip’s family, acknowledging that a six-month milestone is a significant one.”

The rebels’ demands “oscillated over time”, documents reveal, including dropping the independence demand.

And while videos and assurances periodically emerged, it was not clear just how he was being treated in captivity.

On the one-year anniversary of his capture, the TPNPB said it would free Mehrtens “in order to protect humanity and ensure human rights”.

Images released by the rebels this time showed a long-haired Mehrtens dishevelled and emaciated, sitting barefoot on a wooden log while flanked by two men brandishing rifles.

Mehrtens then addressed the camera, speaking to his wife and son, saying he loved and missed them both.

And he added that “the commander has said he’s able to help with a couple of things for me,” before asking for a medicine inhaler “just in case I get some asthma, and if possible, can I please get an e-book reader?”

Then, on September 21 last year, after 594 days of captivity, the Mehrtens family finally got the news they had been waiting and praying for: he was suddenly being released.

For most, it was a bolt from the blue. But behind the scenes, the New Zealand Government had worked hard to pave the way.

One of the last situation reports, which is undated and featured a section on “contingency planning”, spoke about how there was a “detailed response framework” in place for Mehrtens’ eventual release.

“We have previously engaged at length with Indonesia to clarify our understanding of what will occur in the immediate period following [Mehrtens’] release and in recent engagements with Indonesian ministers and senior officials have reiterated New Zealand’s consular responsibilities and Indonesia’s obligations to facilitate access to NZC at the earliest opportunity,” it said.

Surrounded by whirring cameras, the skinny, bearded Mehrtens sobbed as he called his family.

Later, at a news conference in Timika, he spoke of his relief.

“Today I have been freed,” he said. “I am very happy that shortly I will be able to go home and meet my family.”

Mehrtens speaks during a press conference following his release in Timika, Central Papua on September 21, 2024. Photo / AFP

His family then released a statement, speaking of the “very difficult” time they had endured, and thanked the authorities for the peaceful negotiations that helped keep him safe.

“As challenging as this has been, it would have been inordinately harder if we were not aware of how hard everyone was working and what actions were being taken.”

They also thanked a regional commander of the Free Papua Movement who helped get several reassuring messages to them during the spell of captivity.

“Those messages filled our souls and gave us hope that we would eventually see Phil again.”

After the “long and arduous ordeal”, they asked for further privacy.

Later, a Givealittle page, set up by Mehrtens’ older brother Chris, was launched to help raise money to help get him to reintegrate into normal life.

Mehrtens flew into Jakarta’s Halim Perdanakusuma air force base just before midnight on the day he was released. He was met off the plane by local officials and relieved Kiwi diplomats.

After almost 600 days, he got a private reunion with his immediate family. He was checked over by an Australian doctor and found to be in “remarkably good shape” and got his first night, in a long time, sleeping in a bed.

Negotiations, Foreign Minister Winston Peters would admit, had been “nerve-racking”.

“It was always a concern of ours that we might not succeed. The hardest thing in an environment with no trust is to establish trust.”

Kurt Bayer is NZ Herald South Island head of news based in Christchurch. He is a senior journalist who joined the Herald in 2011.