JAYAPURA - The Papua Law Enforcement and Human Rights Coalition urges the Honorary Council of the Indonesian Advocates Organization to examine alleged violations of professional codes of ethics following the reporting of a lawyer to the police.
This case surfaces amid the rolling lawsuit against the Decree of the Regent of Merauke related to the road project for food security of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Indonesia at the Jayapura State Administrative Court. The case with register number 9/G/LH/2026/PTUN.JPR contests the Decree of the Regent of Merauke Number 100.3.3.2/1105/Tahun 2025 concerning Environmental Feasibility of the Construction Plan for an Access Road Along 135 Kilometers in Merauke Regency, South Papua Province.
This lawsuit was filed by the Merauke Solidarity Advocacy Team which accompanies a citizen named Mama Yasinta Moiwend since 5 March 2026. In its development, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Indonesia involved themselves as Intervening Defendant II on 18 May 2026 through the submission of an answer to the Panel of Judges of the Jayapura State Administrative Court. The entry of the Indonesian military as a party in this case occurred when the trial entered the agenda for the submission of the duplik from the Legal Counsel of the Regent of Merauke.
In the midst of preparations for the drafting of the replik by the legal team, a video recording displaying Mama Yasinta Moiwend circulated widely in the community. In the video, she questions the use of her photo in a documentary film titled Pesta Babi and states she will not attend the trial at the Jayapura State Administrative Court.
"Advocates within the Merauke Solidarity Advocacy Team as the legal counsel of Mama Yasinta Moiwend cannot be prosecuted criminally and civilly," said a representative of the Papua Law Enforcement and Human Rights Coalition, Wednesday (3/6/2026).
The coalition assesses that the dissemination of the video constitutes a structured effort by certain parties to influence the legal process that is currently running in the court. The recording and publication of the video are considered to violate professional ethics because they were conducted without coordination with the Merauke Solidarity Advocacy Team as the official legal counsel. The legal problem sharpens further when the Chairman of the Legal Aid Institute of Papua Merauke was reported to the Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police, even though the status of the legal counsel has not been revoked by the client.
The reporting of one of the leaders of the advocacy institution is considered to contradict Article 16 of Law Number 18 Year 2003 concerning Advocates which guarantees professional legal immunity in conducting client defense. The coalition emphasizes that enforcement against advocates suspected of violating rules must go through the mechanism of the Honorary Council of the Advocates Organization according to statutory provisions.
The coalition also requests the Judicial Commission of the Republic of Indonesia Papua Representative to monitor directly the professionalism of the Panel of Judges of the Jayapura State Administrative Court examining this case. Meanwhile, the Regent of Merauke and the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Indonesia are reminded not to use this external dynamic as an alibi in the trial.
The Chief of the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia is also urged to order the Chief of the Greater Jakarta Metropolitan Regional Police to respect the immunity rights of advocates and legal aid providers protected by law. This step is considered important to prevent criminalization against human rights defenders who are carrying out their profession in the land of Papua. (One Papua)