The delegation from Britain arrived in Papua province last month, and was due to spend two weeks there.

But within days it became clear they had fallen foul of the authorities.

The central government accused them of not having the right visas to carry out research and investigative work.

A foreign ministry spokesman also told the BBC they had not specified on their visa applications they intended travelling to Papua province.

But a member of the Amnesty delegation who is now back in London denied these allegations. She said the aim of the visit was not to investigate the death of the independence leader Theys Eluay.

She said it was "routine visit" to meet local human rights organisations, lawyers, members of the church and the provincial administration'.

And, she added, in the past, they had travelled on the same type of visa to sensitive areas such as Aceh without encountering problems from the government.

'Minimising fallout'

Although she believes the incident is the result of a misunderstanding, it is also a clear indication that the government wants to minimise the fallout from the murder of Theys Eluay.

Eluay was found dead in his overturned car

Local human rights organisations have described the killing as a "state crime'.

They say it is clear from the police investigation that the army special forces have been implicated, and they believe the soldiers were only implementing government policy.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri has finally given the go-ahead for an independent investigation into the murder.

The decision follows the outcry caused by the announcement that a military team would carry out its own inquiry.