Papua Rebels Release New Zealand Pilot After 19 Months

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News JAKARTA (Worthy News) – Phillip Mark Mehrtens, the New Zealand pilot who’s been held hostage for more than a year in the troubled Papua region, has been freed by separatist rebels, Indonesian authorities confirmed Saturday. Mehrtens, from New Zealand’s Christchurch, who flew for Indonesian aviation company Susi Air, was handed over early Saturday to the Cartenz Peace Taskforce, the joint security force set up by the Indonesian gover