Jayapura, Papua, Indonesia – MARCH 16, 2006 Students from Cendrawasih University called for a demonstration that ended in a massacre in which several police officers were killed. They demanded the closure of the mining company Freeport Indonesia, which operates the enormous Grasberg copper-gold mine. They accused the company of oppressing the local population and destroying the environment.

However, the protesting students refused to give up and ignored the police warnings. Instead, they built barricades out of tires and coconut palms. When the police used tear gas to disperse them, street fights broke out between the two sides. The students accused the police of using live ammunition and defended themselves with whatever they could find.

The demonstration claimed the lives of four police officers and one army officer. Dozens of other people on both sides were injured.

In the days that followed, 23 students were arrested, 20 of whom were charged with the murder of the officers, looting, and other crimes. Some sentences were as long as 15 years in prison. Many of them claimed that their confessions had been coerced and that they had been beaten during interrogations.