DILI (TOP) – Representatives of the Timor-Leste Press Union (TLPU) and the International Federation of Journalists Asia Pacific (IFJ-AP) have successfully reported cases of defamation to be removed and dismissed against journalists in Timor-Leste.
TLPU Secretary General Zezito da Silva who voiced this case at the 31st world IFJ congress in Muscat, Oman which started on 31 May and will end on 3 June 2022.
Due to the defamation charges from Timor Leste’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Social Communication, Francisco Martins da Costa Pereira Jerónimo, under Timor Leste’s Penal Code against journalist Francisco Belo Simões da Costa, the editor-in-chief of local news portal Hatutan.com, following coverage of an allegation of ministerial corruption in a ‘set-top-box installation’ project.
Following the coverage, Minister Jerónimo brought charges against Francisco Belo, who received a summons from the Dili district prosecutor’s office for defamation under Article 285 of Timor-Leste’s Penal Code.
In 2017, two Timor Leste journalists, Oki Raimundos and Lourenco Martins, also faced jail for defamation for their articles about Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo in 2015, but the charges were overturned by the Dili District Court on June 1, 2017.
Recall the statement of IFJ that call for attention to the Government to ensure the safety and security work of journalist in the country, “including holding public officials and authorities to account, without fear of prosecution. The use of Article 285 is antithetical to the freedom of the press embodied in Articles 8 and 9 of Timor Leste’s Press Law, which establishes the right for journalists not to be subjected to any harassment or interference which threatens their independence and objectivity. The IFJ urges Minister Francisco Jeronimo to immediately withdraw all charges against journalist Francisco Belo.”
The TLPU therefore calls the IFJ to maintain its advocacy for freedom of expression and the press in Timor-Leste and call for attention to the government and the State to ensure the jobs of journalist.
