Merauke Five

The Merauke Five are five Australian citizens who were detained by Indonesian authorities in the West Papuan town of Merauke for entering Indonesian territory without visas. The passengers were assured by the operator of the aircraft that visas were arranged and would be obtained upon arrival. Even without visas or security clearance, they were cleared to land by air traffic controllers, who were aware of their situation and assured them that a fine would be sufficient to clear the matter up. However, they were put in detention, then sentenced to jail.

The Merauke Five consisted of middle-aged Queenslanders – pilot William Scott-Bloxam, his wife Vera and passengers Keith Mortimer, Hubert Hofer and Karen Burke. The trip's intended purpose was part sightseeing and part business. Their arrival date was 12 September 2008.

Appeal

After being sentenced to between two and three years' jail each, the group appealed the case in the Jayapura High Court, resulting in their freedom as the court overturned the jail sentence. When they arrived at the airport, however, they found their plane surrounded by Indonesian security, who had confiscated it on behalf of the prosecutors who lodged an appeal to overturn the High Court ruling. The plane, they said, was required for evidence. And as the court ruling stipulated they must leave in their own plane, the Merauke Five were trapped at Mopah Airport — too afraid to leave in case they would be charged again for other charges.

Merauke

Merauke is a city considered to be one of the easternmost cities in Indonesia, located in Merauke Regency, Papua province, Indonesia. It is next to Maro River. At the 2010 Census it had a population of 87,634.

Merauke was established in February 1902 as a military post by the Dutch, to prevent raids by the Marind-anim into neighbouring British New Guinea and the northwest Torres Strait Islands (Boigu, Dauan and Saibai).

The Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier in Merauke is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Merauke.

Merauke was the site of an Allied air base during World War II and there was ground fighting between Australian and Japanese patrols in the area.

Merauke as the name

Merauke is used for the name of United States navy ship, USS Merauke (ID-2498).

See also

References

Coordinates: 8°28′S 140°20′E / 8.467°S 140.333°E / -8.467; 140.333