The following press release (below in English and Indonesian) came out this morning from the NGO Forum and Rede Feto (the Women's Network). This afternoon, there was a preliminary hearing on the case at which the Investigative Judge decided that Dr. Lobo will remain in detention until his trial for the protection of his wife, the victim in the case, and because there is a risk that he will leave the country. The judge also refused repeated requests from Dr. Lobo and his lawyers to hear directly from their four children (ranging from age 7 to 14) who were present in the courtroom. The children have been in the care of Dr. Lobo and his family since February. There were many people present at the public hearing, including press and local and international monitors.
“This case will set a precedent for future cases of domestic violence and for any cases that involve a high-level official,” said Filomena Reis, Advocacy Officer for the East Timor NGO Forum. “Our legal system must treat all people equally.”
Civil society groups were stunned when Dr. Lobo was given unconditional release by the court after his arrest in February. Even independent legal observers find the failure of detention of the accused surprising. “The case is an important test of the new judicial system of East Timor,” said Christian Ranheim, a Norwegian lawyer from the Judicial System Monitoring Program. “We are at the moment looking at pre-trial conditions, including the release of the accused. Although the Investigating Judge has exclusive right to decide on the use of detention, it seems clear to us that the rights of the victim have been violated in this case.”
Civil society groups and the Women’s Network stress that the issue of domestic violence must be recognized by all as a serious social problem in East Timor.
There has been a substancial increase in the number of reports of domestic violence in East Timor since the referendum on independence in 1999. Prosecution of cases, however, has been very slow. “Many East Timorese still believe that domestic violence is a private issue and is therefore not fit for a public courtroom,” said Laura Abrantes from the East Timor Women’s Network. “A crime is a crime, whether committed on the street or in one’s home.”
In February 2001, Dr. Sergio Lobo was accused of beating his wife with a stick and injecting a sedative into her arm with a syringe he had brought for this purpose. On 9 July 2001, Dr. Lobo was accused of assaulting his wife again at the Hotel Audian. The victim in the case describes a history of severe physical and emotional violence that spans her 15 years of marriage to Dr. Lobo.
Contact Persons:
* Filomena Reis, East Timor NGO Forum (0407-015-968)
* Laura Abrantes, Rede Feto/East Timor Women’s Network (0418-840-127)
La'o Hamutuk
The East Timor Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring
and Analysis
Instituto Timor Lorosa'e ba Analiza no Monitor Reconstrusaun
PO Box 340, Dili, East Timor (via Darwin, Australia)
Mobile 61-408-811373 ; Land phone 670-390-325-013
Email: laohamutuk@easttimor.minihub.org
Web: http://www.etan.org/lh
To receive our bulletins electronically, please
send a blank email to:
laohamutukbulletindistribution-subscribe@topica.com
REDE: Feto Timor Lorosae Timorese Women's Network Updated June 15
Tetum:
(the most common East Timorese
language)
La’o
Hamutuk, Instituto Timor Lorosa’e ba Analiza no Monitoring Reconstrucao
Updated June 27
Saida
mak La’o Hamutuk? La’o Hamutuk organizasaun klibur Ema Timor
Lorosa’e no Ema Internacional ne’ebe buka atu tau matan, halo analize ho
halo relatorio kona ba hahalok (actividade) instuisaun internacional ne’ebe
oras ne’e haknaar iha Timor Lorosa’e, liu-liu hahalok sira ne’ebe iha relasaun
ho rekonstrusaun fizika no social Timor Lorosa’e nian. La’o Hamutuk
fiar katak Povo Timor Lorosa’e mak tenke hakotu iha procesu rekonstrusaun
ne’e nia laran no procesu rekonstrusaun ne’e tenke demokratiku no transparante
duni.
Staf Timor oan: Inès Martins,
Fernando da Silva, Thomas Freitas; Staf Internasional: Pamela Sexton,
Mark Salzer; Kuadru Ejekutivu: Sr. Maria Dias, Joseph Nevins, Fr.
Jovito Rego de Jesus Araùjo, Aderito Soares Durubasa: Benjamin
Sanches Afonso, Tomé Xavier Jeronimo, Maria Bernardino, Manuel Tilman,
Djoni Ferdiwijaya Ilustrador: Sebastião Pedro da Silva, Nan
Porter Design Jeronimo Staf Monitoriu Projektu Judiciariu JSMP:
Christian
Ranheim, Caitlin Reiger, Rayner Thwaites
Local Contact: P.O. Box 340,
Dili, East Timor (via Darwin, Australia) Mobile fone: +61(408)811373;
Telefone Uma: +670(390)325-013
International contact: +1-510-643-4507
Email: laohamutuk@easttimor.minihub.org
Homepage: http://www.etan.org/lh
Boletim La’o Hamutuk: [Tetum PDF
format]
Vol. 2, Nos. 1-2 Abríl 2001 Vizaun
Jeral Hosi Fundu Ba Rekonstrusaun Timor Loro Sa’e: http://www.etan.org/lh/PDFs/lhbl2n1t.pdf
Vol. 1, No. 4, 31 Dejembru 2000 Banku
Mundial iha Timor Loro Sa’e: http://www.etan.org/lh/PDFs/lhbul4tm.pdf
Vol. 1, No. 3, 17 Novembro 2000 Hari Sistema
Saude Nasional iha Timor Lorosa’e: http://www.etan.org/lh/PDFs/LHbul3tm.pdf
Vol. 1, No. 2, 17 Julho 2000 Protesaun
ba meio ambiente iha TL: http://www.etan.org/lh/PDFs/bulletin02tetum.pdf
Vol. 1, No. 1, 21 Juñu 2000 Rekonciliasaun:
http://www.etan.org/lh/PDFs/bulletin01tetum.pdf
English:
La'o
Hamutuk: East Timor Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Analysis
Updated June 24
La'o Hamutuk (Tetum for Walking
Together) is a joint East Timorese-international organization that seeks
to monitor, to analyze, and to report on the reconstruction activities
of the principal international institutions. It believes that the people
of East Timor must be the ultimate decisionmakers in the reconstruction
process and that the process should be as democratic and transparent as
possible ...
East Timorese staff: Inès
Martins, Fernando da Silva, Thomas Freitas;
International staff: Pamela
Sexton, Mark Salzer Executive board: Sr. Maria Dias, Joseph Nevins,
Fr. Jovito Rego de Jesus Araùjo, Aderito
de Jesus Soares Translators: Maria Bernardino, Tom‚ Xavier Jeronimo
JSMP
staff: Christian Ranheim, Caitlin Reiger, Rayner Thwaites
International contact: +1-510-643-4507
Email: laohamutuk@easttimor.minihub.org
Homepage: http://www.etan.org/lh
La’o Hamutuk Bulletin: http://www.etan.org/lh/bulletin.html
Mar 23 2001 LH: Job announcement for La'o
Hamutuk in East Timor: http://www.pcug.org.au/~wildwood/01marjob.htm
Activity Report: Mar 16 2001 LH:
http://www.pcug.org.au/~wildwood/01marlhreport.html
See also:
Bahasa Indonesia:
Jul
12 NGO Forum / Rede Feto: Tokoh Masyarakat Ditahan Lagi Untuk Kekerasan
Rumah Tangga Pernyataan Pers (added Juli
13)
"Kasus ini akan dijadikan preseden untuk
kasus-kasus kekerasan rumah tangga berikutnya dan untuk semua kasus yang
melibatkan pejabat masyarakat tinggi ... Sistem pengadilan kita harus memperlakukan
semua orang dengan cara sama.” Filomena Reis, Staf Advokasi di NGO
Forum Timor Lorosa’e
Jun
17 Guterez: Is access to justice still dependent on position in ETimor?
Article and letter added June 22
"This [domestic violence] case seems to
be taking a long time to get to court and ... I feel justice may not be
done. With domestic violence being common here and Dr Sergio being a well-known
figure the case could be a big move to make it clear that domestic violence
is not expectable and illegal. Perhaps it is time for the international
community to voice their concern." Jane
Guterez
BD: East Timorese Women's Issues - A collection of recent information, petitions, articles and news