After 592 days in captivity, the rebels agreed to launch Mehrtens, who was reportedly in good well being when he was picked up. He has since been flown to the mining city of Timika for additional well being examinations. Kogoya initially indicated that Mehrtens wouldn’t be launched until the Indonesian authorities allowed Papua to develop into a sovereign state, however the rebels finally determined to let him go, proposing phrases that included media involvement within the launch course of.
The New Zealand Ministry of Overseas Affairs and Commerce (MFAT) confirmed Mehrtens’ security and talent to speak along with his household. Overseas Minister Winston Peters expressed reduction on the information, stating that varied New Zealand authorities businesses had been working intently with Indonesian authorities for the previous 19 and a half months to safe his launch. “This information should be an unlimited reduction for his pals and family members,” Peters informed NZ Herald.
Phillip Mehrtens, who was 37 when he was kidnapped, initially skilled as a pilot in New Zealand and had lived in Bali along with his household in recent times. Mehrtens is a husband and father from Christchurch. He was kidnapped whereas working a small Pilatus airplane in a area recognized for its ongoing tensions and historic insurgency.
