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Police shoot two more civilians in Kontiunai, Yapen, killing one
West Papua Media - February 16, 2015
According to credible local human rights investigators interviewed by West Papua Media, Indonesian Brimob police shot Soni Fairumbab (25 years), and Yosias Sineri (35 years) in an unprovoked follow up action close to the February 11 shooting of Faris Rumanggito, which was at the 5km mark of the main Trans Yapen road.
A silver Toyota Avanza police van with eight fully armed police officers was seen at 8pm on February 11 by witnesses driving towards Serui city, having passed Angkaisera Police station, through the village of Kontiunai and on towards the north coast of Yapen.
However at the 4 kilometre post of the Trans Yapen (Serui to Saubeba) Road, the Avanza parked and the eight police inside it set up an impromptu roadblock, using a 2 metre piece of timber.
The two victims, Soni Fairumbab and Yosias Sineri, arrived at the roadblock on motorbikes as they were returning from buying food at the local store. They were employees of a businessman named Sala, who is handling the North Shore drainage project along the North Shore.
According to statements from Sineri, the surviving victim, the "actors" (Police perpetrators) shone their police torches and floodlight into the victim's faces at the road block, to disorient them and preventing their further movement, and proceeded to beat Fairumbab in the face with the torch, injuring him severely. Sineri panicked and broke away from the police officers, and started to run, where without warning several officers opened fire simultaneously from their automatic rifles, hitting both Fairumabab and Sineri in each's right leg.
Fairumbab's right calf wound, combined with his head and face injuries were mortal and he was quickly dead at the scene, whereas Sineri was struck by a minor bullet wound to his right foot, and fearing for his life, jumped into the surrounding jungle darkness.
From his hiding place and backed up by other independent witnesses, Sineri witnessed the eight officers get back in the car and leave at very high speed back towards Serui city. Local villagers separately to a WPM source reported that at precisely 10pm two trucks (almost 50 paramilitary police) of heavily armed POLRES Yapen Dalmas (Brimob "public order" commandos) descended on Kontiunai village to commence a patrol and occupation. According to local sources, civilians in the village asked each other "What else is going to happen later?," as at the time they did not know if there was a shooting that occurred nearby.
At 8am the next morning (February 12) the severely injured Yosias Sineri, who had been hiding through the night, made his way to Kontiunai to tell the news that he and Fairumbab had been obstructed then shot by the police in the silver Avanza, and villagers knew then that a shooting had occurred.
At the crime scene Soni Fairumbab was found lifeless, together with 11 used bullet casings from used in the shooting, and also one ejected unused bullet. Yapen police were contacted by WPM for comment, but hung up when asked.
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