DEKAI - The brutality of security forces in the Land of Papua has once again targeted innocent civilian lives, this time an underage child in Yahukimo Regency has become the victim. On Saturday afternoon, May 2, 2026, at approximately 15:00 WIT, the tranquility on Kurima Road (Kali Biru), Dekai City, was instantly shattered when joint TNI-Polri forces conducted an arbitrary arrest of Yosua Segenil, a boy who is only 12 years old.
​This forced arrest took place without any clear legal procedure and was carried out brutally before the public eye. "They came and immediately took the child without any explanation, we do not know where he was taken," said a human rights defender (HRD) monitoring the situation on the ground with a tone of fury. Yosua's disappearance from his social environment without a trace has created a wave of fear as well as anger among the people of Yahukimo.
​Until now, Yosua's whereabouts remain a great mystery hidden behind the muzzles of guns. The family, consumed by anxiety, has not been given the slightest access to see the child's face. A family representative stated through tears that they only want to know where Yosua is and ensure he is still breathing. "We demand an official explanation from the TNI and Polri; what is the sin of a 12-year-old child that he must be treated like a major criminal?" they asserted in an urgent statement.
​This act of enforced disappearance has nakedly trampled upon all international child protection and human rights instruments. The security forces seem blind to the fact that every child has an absolute right to be protected from arbitrary arrest. If there is no valid legal basis, then there is no other reason for the state but to immediately release Yosua Segenil without conditions. "Do not let the law of the jungle prevail in this land, free Yosua right now or admit that you truly intend to destroy the future of Papuan children," shouted a local humanitarian activist.
​Komnas HAM and KPAI are challenged to immediately go to the field and conduct a thorough investigation. All elements of civil society, churches, and humanitarian organizations in Yahukimo are now united in one commitment: to oversee this case to completion. The safety of Yosua Segenil is a fixed price that cannot be negotiated by the empty promises of the authorities ***