Papua New Guinea: Kidnappers release New Zealand national and remaining hostages Feb. 26 /update 1

Event

As of Feb. 26, kidnappers have released a New Zealand national and two of his colleagues who were abducted Feb. 20 in the Highlands Region. The New Zealand national, who is a professor from Australia's University of Southern Queensland, was conducting a field study with three colleagues near Mount Bosavi when the kidnappers took them. The perpetrators released one individual from the group last week.

Context

The threat of kidnapping is moderate in Papua New Guinea, and such attacks typically stem from business, personal, or communal grievances. Nevertheless, there have been reported abductions of foreign nationals in the highland region in recent years, which can be violent in nature. The risk of kidnapping is higher in certain areas, such as Port Moresby, Lae, and the Highlands region, where criminal gangs operate. The most common types of abduction in Papua New Guinea include basic opportunistic kidnap-for-ransom, high net-worth kidnap-for-ransom, and those related to personal or criminal disputes.