On 26 January 2021, the public prosecutor demanded a sentence of eleven years imprisonment for Adam Sorry (see image, source: Suara Papua), the chairman of the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) branch office in Maybrat Regency. Sorry is currently standing trial at the Sorong District Court. He was charged with Article 170 (2) & (3) of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP) on collective violence resulting in injuries & death as well as Article 338 KUHP on homicide. The latter article carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment. His lawyers claim that the trial is an attempt to criminalize Adam Sorry for his political views and the affiliation with the KNPB, a political movement organisation, promoting the right to self-determination through peaceful activities. Trial will continue on 9 February with the defence plea.
On 2 February 2021, dozens of protesters launched a peaceful demonstration in front of the Sorong District Court. They demanded the unconditional release of Adam Sorry and three other Papuan defendants. They had been arrested during a police raid in the regency of Maybrat in April 2020. The protesters declared they will launch a large-scale demonstration if the judges will find one of the defendants guilty.
Adam Sorry was arrested in the Kisor Village, Aifat Timur Selatan district, in the Maybrat Regency on 1 July 2020. The police conducted the raids as part of an investigation into the murder of a police officer in the Bintuni Regency. According to witnesses, police officers ill-treated Adam Sorry and various other KNPB activists during the arrest.
