In rare admission, commander of Indonesian military in the province says horrific footage is a ‘violation of the law’, and confirms 13 personnel have been detained

Warning: this article contains graphic content

Graphic footage of a West Papuan man bound in a water-filled barrel and being beaten and cut with knives by Indonesian soldiers has drawn a rare apology from the commander of Indonesia’s military in the province.

Major General Izak Pangemanan confirmed 13 military personnel had been detained and more than 40 questioned as part of an investigation into the torture of the unarmed man.

“We regret what happened, it shouldn’t have happened,” Pangemanan said, insisting the soldiers’ actions were rogue, and not representative of the Indonesian military.

“We condemn this action. It’s a violation of the law and it has tarnished the military’s reputation,” he said.

We apologise to to all Papuans”.

The two videos of the man being tortured were filmed in early February this year, during a military raid in the Omukia and Gome districts in Puncak regency, in the Central Papua province.