Filep Karma

Filep Karma Semuel Jacob ( born August 15, 1959 in Biak ) is a political activist for the independence of West Papua.

His father, Andreas Karma, was first in the Dutch colonial administration as an official act, and after 1963 in West Papua was taken over by the Indonesians, he continued to hold administrative functions. His cousin, Constant Karma, serving as deputy governor of Papua. Filep Karma studied political science at the University of Surakarta in Central Java. He then worked as a clerk in Jayapura. In the years 1997-1998 he studied in Manila.

After his return to Indonesia, he was involved in the independence movement in Papua, Papua Merdeka Organisasi. He took part in the events on the island of Biak in part in July 1998, which was a protest against Indonesian occupation. During this turmoil about 100 protesters died, shot by Indonesian armed forces. On July 6, 1998, he was arrested and remained in prison to 3 October 1998. In January 1999 he was accused by the Indonesian authorities of treason and sentenced to 6.5 year in prison. After lodging a complaint was filed, he was released from prison on 20 November 1999. On 1 December 2004, on the anniversary of independence from the Dutch, he participated in a ceremony where he has set the forbidden from Indonesia West Papua flag on the flagpole. For this act he was again declared Indonesia's authority traitor and sentenced to 15 years in prison. In August 2011, when Indonesia declared an amnesty for political prisoners in West Papua, he refused it, the benefit to make. In 2011, Amnesty International has declared him a prisoner of conscience.