BBC Summary of World Broadcasts Dili court seeks witnesses of militia crimes

Excerpts from report by Timorese newspaper 'Suara Timor Lorosae' on 15th November

Dili: Members of the Dili district court have made a plea to the community in Timor Lorosae to help legal personnel with any information on the involvement in crimes of suspected militia who have been freed or who are still at large. The community could aid the legal process by acting as witnesses or by presenting supporting evidence.

The following was outlined in a press release from the Dili district court and signed by its spokesperson Pereira dos Santos in relation to the handling of a number of cases of humanitarian crime, war crime and genocide [received in English]. These cases are being investigated by the Prosecutor for Serious Crimes located at the UNTAET [UN Transitional Administration in East Timor] Human Rights Centre and the Special Investigations Unit from UN Civpol...

This statement was responding to recent media coverage of militia members who had been involved in crimes in 1999 but who were later released by the Dili district court. There had been a number of legal reasons why the court was forced to release the suspects, whether they wanted to or not...

Source: 'Suara Timor Lorosae', Dili, in Indonesian 15 Nov 00 p 2

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