New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens has been freed from more than one-and-a-half years in captivity in Indonesia’s Papua, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) confirmed. 

Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Mehrtens was now “safe” in a statement.  

“We are pleased and relieved to confirm that Philip Mehrtens is safe and well and has been able to talk with his family. This news must be an enormous relief for his friends and loved ones,” Peters said. 

For the last 19 and a half months a wide range of government agencies had been working with Indonesian authorities and others towards securing Mehrtens’ release. 

”The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with staff in both Indonesia and Wellington, has led a sustained whole-of-government effort to secure Philip Mehrtens’ release, and has also been supporting his family,” Peters said. 

An armed faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army, led by Egianus Kogoya, kidnapped Mehrtens on February 7, 2023, after he landed a small commercial plane in the remote, mountainous area of Nduga. 

“We are prioritising approach through religious leaders, church leaders, traditional leaders and Egianus Kogoya’s close family to minimise casualties and maintain the safety of the pilot,” said the chief of Cartenz 2024 Peace Operations, Brigadier General Faizal Ramadhani, on Saturday. 

Mehrtens was freed and picked up by a joint team in Nduga Regency and was undergoing health check-ups and a physiological examination in Timika regency, the police said. 

Police said they would hold a news conference later. 

West Papua National Liberation Army tried using Mehrtens to broker independence from Indonesia. 

On September 18 the group asked the New Zealand government, including the police and army, to escort the pilot and for local and international journalists to be involved in the release process. 

Both Foreign Affairs and the minister’s office confirmed they were aware of the proposed plan. 

In a statement, they said their focus remained on securing a peaceful resolution and the pilot’s safe release. 

“We continue to work closely with all parties to achieve this and will not be discussing the details publicly.” 

In February 2023, Mehrtens, a husband and father from Christchurch, was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he landed his small Pilatus plane on a remote airstrip in Nduga Regency in the Papua highlands. 

The area is a highly militarised district with a long history of insurgency in the newly named Highland Papua province.