Office of the Deputy General Prosecutor for Serious Crimes East Timor

SERIOUS CRIMES UNIT: INFORMATION RELEASE

10 April 2003

CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY RAPE CHARGES FOR FIVE TNI SOLDIERS

The Deputy General Prosecutor for Serious Crimes filed a new Crimes Against Humanity indictment with the Special Panel for Serious Crimes at Dili District Court in East Timor at 1400 on 9 April 2003. The indictment charges 5 East Timorese TNI soldiers with Crimes Against Humanity? Rape, Torture and Deportation.

As part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians in a particular Sub-district in East Timor in April 1999, it is alleged that TNI soldiers, including the 5 accused, and militia forcibly transferred villagers in that Sub-district to central locations. The indictment alleges that this was a strategy to control the movements and activities of independence supporters.

At these central locations, the 5 accused TNI soldiers allegedly raped a number of women for an extended period of time. The 5 accused TNI soldiers used intimidation, threats of force or actual force to illicit compliance and subservience from the victims. In some cases, the rapes continued after the victims were forcibly deported to West Timor following the announcement of the result of the popular consultation in September 1999. The indictment also charges torture of the victims while they were under the control of the accused persons.

All of the accused in the indictment are believed to be in the Republic of Indonesia. Arrest Warrants will be requested from Dili District Court which when received will be forwarded to the Attorney General of the Republic of Indonesia. The arrest warrants will also be forwarded to Interpol as Timor Leste joined the Interpol organisation in 2002.

The names of the accused and the area where the alleged crimes were committed will not be disclosed in order to safeguard the victims.

The indictment is the fourth indictment to be issued by the Serious Crimes Unit with charges of rape as a Crime Against Humanity. On 5 April 2003, one accused in the Lolotoe trial was convicted of 7 counts of Crimes Against Humanity including one count of Crimes Against Humanity (rape) at the Special Panel for Serious Crimes at Dili District Court.

The Serious Crimes Unit has now filed 60 indictments at the Special Panel for Serious Crimes charging a total of 247 persons. More than 30 defendants have been convicted in trials at the Special Panel for Serious Crimes at Dili District Court.

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