Fretilin Press Conference July18 - Fretilin youth murdered by police.(Tetum)

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(Tetum  -English Translation below)



FRENTE REVOLUCIONÁRIA DO TIMOR-LESTE INDENPENDENTE  


FRETILIN


Media Conference Held at Parliament House, Dili,
18.7.2012




Media conference to divulge the outcome of an investigation
into potentially criminal conduct by PNTL Squad Members
stationed at Hera who shot and killed FRETILIN militant,
Armindo Pereira Soares on 16 – 07- 2012.


Through this press conference we want to share with the media
and public at large that the FRETILIN Central Committee (CCF)
when we heard that PNTL had shot and killed FRETILIN militant,
Armindo Pereira Soares, in Hera the morning of 16-07-2012,
CCF FRETILIN immediately established and sent out an
investigative team composed of:



1. Deputy Domingos Maria Sarmento, President of the National
Justice Commission
2. Jose Agostinho Sequieira, Somocho, Vice-President of
the Ex-combatants and Veterans Association. 
3. José Guterres, Lawyer, 


in order to investigate the case of the PNTL Police in Hera
shooting dead  FRETILIN militant  Armindo Prereira
Soares in Hera- Sub-District, Metinaro.


It was felt necessary to immediately take statements from
potential material witnesses to the incident, due to what
appeared to FRETILIN as attempts to cover up the incident, and
the history of a number of violent incidents against citizens,
including homicides that have thus far gone unresolved. 


The following is the chronology of facts and evidence that the
internal FRETILIN investigation found:


1.       On the morning of
16 July 2012 between 6 and 9 am, the situation in Aldeia Mota
Kiik, the location of the incident, was normal and calm,
without any disturbances or rock throwing, nor burning of tires
on the public road.  According to the information gathered
by the FRETILIN investigation team, tires had been burnt,
people screaming and throwing stones at each other on the night
of the 15th of July 2012, but by 9 am on the
morning of the 16th of July 2012, the situation was
extremely calm, with students preparing and some on their way
to school and everyone going about their daily chores.


2.       As the situation in
the area was calm, there were no disturbances or rock throwing
along the Hera-Dili public road,  Armindo Pereira Soares
(the deceased) waited along the roadside for public transport
(at a distance between 5-10 meters from his house) to come to
Dili to attend his classes at University of Dili. 
According to information gathered, Armindo Pereira Soares,
lives with his older brother Abel Ximenes in Becora, but on
Saturday the 14th of July 2012, the deceased traveled to
Hera to get some money from his Auntie, Sra Ana Senhorinha
Alves, alias Bilesa, a veteran of the armed struggle, to pay
for his university studies.


3.       Whilst the deceased
Armindo Pereira Soares and his friend Joanico Freitas were
waiting for the microlet, the deceased, Armindo Pereira Soares,
told Joanico he had forgotten the money his Aunt had given him
on the dinning table.  He turned to go and retrieve the
money he had forgotten.  At that moment traveling from the
direction of Hera the Hera police post vehicle, on which were
riding between 5-10 police officers, was heading towards them
at very high speed.  From far, before nearing the place
where the deceased Armindo Pereira Soares and Joanico Freitas
were standing waiting for the microlet, a police officer fired
an a warning shot in the air and the vehicle stopped whilst the
police officers descended from it.  Meanwhile the deceased
Armindo Pereira Soares was walking slowly (not running) to his
Auntie’s house.  When the deceased had returned to his
Auntie’s house, 3 police officers, one named Agostinho Cardoso,
another named Mario and a third police officer whose name is
unknown, they pursued the deceased, Armindo Pereira Soares, who
was already on the veranda of the house of the veteran and
former combatant, Ana Senhorina Alves (Bilesa) where she, as
the owner of the house sat on a chair near the door to the
veranda.
4.       The three
police officers, Agostinho Cardoso, Mario and their third
colleague, entered the house without the permission of the owner
and veteran Bilesa, immediately began to strike the head of the
deceased Armindo Pereira Soares with their police
batons whilst the deceased yelled repeatedly “I haven’t done
anything wrong. I haven’t done anything wrong.”  As a result
of these violent strikes, the head of the deceased began to bleed
profusely on the cement inside the house of the veteran,
Builesa.  After the three police officers had physically
assaulted and wounding the deceased to the point of bleeding from
his head, the three police officers dragged him out of the house
and pushed him towards the roadside adjascent to the house.
Whilst this was occurring, the veteran Bilesa and Sr. Joanico
Meneses were standing on the veranda witnessing these brutal and
inhuman acts of these police officers with their own eyes.




5.       Once the 3 police
officers had dragged and pushed the deceased to the roadside, a
policeman named Agostinho Cardoso shot the deceased on his leg
with his pistol.  Ana Senhorina Alves, Builesa, and
Joanico Meneses could see the police officer Agostinho Cardoso
shoot the deceased’s leg from where they were standing on the
veranda of their house, a short distance away.


6.        Following the
3 police officers together with others, dragged and pushed the
deceased into the back of the vehicle. Whilst they were
dragging and pushing he deceased, Armindo, some police officers
were pushing him from behind while others had grabbed him by
his shoulders and lifted the deceased inside the vehicle. 
At that very moment a police officer by the name of Mario shot
the deceased on his right abdomen with his pistol.  This
was also witnessed by Martinho da Silva who usually sells
clothing on the roadside, near the place of the incident. 
 Nearby another witness named Jacinto also witnessed the
shooting of the deceased by the policeman Mario.  Both
witnesses made statements that they saw with their own eyes the
policeman Mario shoot the right side of the abdomen  of
the deceased whilst they were lifting and throwing the deceased
inside the vehicle.  This physical aggression, beating
with batons, shooting the deceased’s leg and abdomen, resulted
in the deceased Armindo Pereira Soares, dying on the way to the
hospital inside the Hera police post vehicle.


7.       As such the actions
of these police officers must be the subject of a criminal
investigation and if found guilty of a crime the police
officers concerned should be dismissed from the PNTL.


8.       According to the
observation of the internal FRETILIN investigation team, the
PNTL showed a lack of professionalism and a lack of
impartiality in performing their duty in this instance and only
showed acts of cruelty and inhumanity in randomly beating and
fatally shooting an innocent person.


9.       The statements and report will be
forwarded to the prosecutor general's office and the Provedor
for Human Rights and Justice promptly urging an urgent
investigation.


Dili, 18 July 2012.