Torture and ill-treatment by police recorded
A Human Rights Watch report listed abuses perpetrated by national police during arrest and detention. A director of the NGO urged donor countries to intervene lest East Timor emulate Indonesia.
Dili (AsiaNews) The government of East Timor must tackle the problem of torture and ill treatment of detainees by police before it gets out of hand, said Human Rights Watch (HRW). The human rights organization today published a 50-page report based on numerous interviews with witnesses and victims, documenting the excessive use of force by East Timor's national police (PNTL) during arrest and detention. Many of those interviewed had to be admitted to hospital because of the seriousness of their injuries.
"We were shocked to find so many credible accounts of torture and severe ill-treatment by police officers," said Brad Adams, HRW Asia director. One of the victims mentioned in the report says he was "continuously tortured, sprayed with pepper spray, beaten and drenched with water".
The head of the PNTL, Paulo Martins, was quick to deny the charges. "We treat our prisoners finely and in line with procedures," he told the press. He invited HRW to send him proof of abuse.
Adams said: "East Timor's leaders are ignoring police abuse when they should be taking urgent steps to end it." He added that the government risked emulating Indonesia, accused of widespread human rights abuses during its occupation of the territory.
East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, gained independence in 1974 but was invaded by Indonesian troops only a few months later. The Jakarta army resorted to methods like reducing civilians to hunger and raping women, causing the death of tens of thousands of people. In 1999, a referendum backed by the United Nations chose independence, which became an official reality in 2002.
At the end of 2005, the East Timorese Commission for Truth and Reconciliation published its report with evidence of atrocities committed by Jakarta during its occupation.
Adams said he hoped today's report would serve as a "wake-up call" for donor countries to express their disapproval on the matter. HRW urged the international community to fund and plan strategies on training and monitoring police in East Timor.
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08/04/2005
