Arrested religious released in east Indonesia

Indonesian authorities released a group of some ten Franciscan and Augustinian monks after detaining them for a few hours on Friday at a peaceful protest in Abepura, in the eastern Papua province.  Scores of religious as well as human rights advocates were demonstrating in front of town’s Good Shepherd Catholic Church, to demand justice for a student from Painai, whose murder on 8 December 2014 remains unsolved. When police intervened, they took away a dozen people.  Abeth You, a Catholic journalist who was covering the protest, said that police seized his camera when he was taking pictures of Franciscan Fr Dorman Skukubun’s arrest.  Augustinian Fr Sorefus Pangguem as well as other Franciscans were also taken into custody. 

A few hours later, all the religious were released.  Fr Yulianus Pawika OFM told journalists that protesters came from many walks of life, and had no "political intentions”. Instead, their action “was designed to give a voice to our heart and conscience. (Source: AsiaNews)