23 Jun 2015

Students arrested at fundraising rally in Papua

10:20 am on 23 June 2015

14 members of a student group have been arrested by police in the Papuan town of Abepura, as they raised funds for a probe into the shooting deaths of fellow students last year.

The shooting in December, at a peaceful rally in Paniai, has led to accusations against police and military for opening fire on uniformed school children.

The students, from the Independent Student Forum, were fundraising to support the National Commission on Human Rights team, which was formed to look into the incident.

According to a report in Step Magazine, police told the students to disband, but they formed again in another part of town and were then arrested.