Jayapura, Jubi – Field coordinator in a protest defending Victor Yeimo Mully Kogoya said his party defended Victor Yeimo because he was a victim of racism accused of treason. Victor Yeimo, he said, only defended Papuan students at the Kamasan Dormitory in Surabaya on August 16, 2019, who were demeaned by being called monkeys. Instead, Yeimo was arrested by the Indonesian security forces and charged with treason.
Victor Yeimo, who is the spokesperson for the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), was charged with treason for allegedly leading protests that took place in Jayapura City on August 19 and 29, 2019. The case was registered at the Jayapura District Court with case number 376/Pid.Sus/2021/PN Jap on August 12, 2021.
Mully Kogoya, when met by Jubi at the rally site in front of the Abepura Shop in Jayapura City on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, said Victor Yeimo was purely a victim of racism. On August 29, 2019, Victor Yeimo was not involved and did not plan the protest.
“On August 19, 2019, Victor Yeimo took to the streets as a participant, protesting racial slurs delivered to Papuans,” he said.
Kogoya said the treason accusation was not true, and it was an attempt to criminalize the leadership of the Papuan people. “So we ask that Victor Yeimo be released from the legal process he is undergoing,” he said. (*)
