UA 228/94 - Indonesia / East Timor: "disappearance" / fear of torture: Filomeno da Silva Pereira, Francisco Miranda Branco, Gregorio da Cunha Saldanha, Jacinto das Neves Raimundo Alves, Juvencio de Jesus Martins, Saturnino da Costa Belo
The six East Timorese prisoners named above, jailed after the Santa Cruz massacre of November 1991, are reported to have "disappeared" after being removed from the prison in Dili where they are serving their sentences. Relatives who went to visit were told that they had been led away in handcuffs by a unit of the Police Mobile Brigade on 9 or 10 June 1994. As of 12 June, relatives had been unable to locate them and the authorities denied knowledge of their whereabouts.
EXTERNAL (for general distribution) AI Index: ASA 21/18/94
Distr: UA/SC
UA 228/94 "Disappearance" / Fear of Torture 13 June 1994
INDONESIA/EAST TIMOR Filomeno da Silva Pereira, 37
Francisco Miranda Branco, 44
Gregorio da Cunha Saldanha, 31
Jacinto das Neves Raimundo Alves, 37
Juvencio de Jesus Martins, 35
Saturnino da Costa Belo, 29
Six East Timorese prisoners of conscience, jailed after the Santa Cruz massacre
of 12 November 1991, are reported to have "disappeared" after being removed
from the prison in Dili, East Timor, where they were serving sentences up to
life imprisonment on political charges.
Amnesty International fears they may be subjected to torture or ill-treatment.
It is calling on the Indonesian authorities to make their whereabouts known
immediately and to provide guarantees of their physical and mental well-being.
Relatives who went to the Comarca prison in Dili for a regular visit were
reportedly told by other prisoners there that the six had been led away in
handcuffs by a unit of the Police Mobile Brigade in the early hours of 9 or
10 June. As of 12 June, relatives had been unable to locate the six at other
prisons and military installations in the city, and the authorities denied
any knowledge of their whereabouts.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The six prisoners named above were sentenced to between five-and-a-half years
and life imprisonment in 1992 for their non-violent political activities on
behalf of East Timor's independence movement. They are among some 20 East
Timorese prisoners of conscience currently serving lengthy prison terms in
East Timor or Indonesia, most of whom were accused of organizing and taking
part in the peaceful pro-independence procession to the Santa Cruz cemetery
on 12 November during which Indonesian troops opened fire. As many as 270 people
were killed at the cemetery and in subsequent days; and at least 200 others
were reported to have "disappeared".
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telegrams/telexes/faxes/express and airmail
letters either in English or in your own language:
- expressing urgent concern for the safety of the six prisoners of conscience
named above (please list all the names), following reports of their
"disappearance" from Comarca prison in Dili on or around 9 June 1994;
- urging the government to make known their whereabouts as a matter of urgency,
and to act immediately to protect the six from torture or ill-treatment;
- urging the government to release immediately all those held for their
non-violent political activities.
APPEALS TO
1. MINISTER OF JUSTICE
Haji Utoyo Usman S.H.
Menteri Kehakiman
Jl. Rasuna Said Kav. 6-7
Kuningan
Jakarta Selatan
2
Indonesia
Faxes: +62 21 3141 625
Telexes: 44404 ditjenim ia
Telegrams: Justice Minister, Jakarta, Indonesia
Salutation: Dear Minister Utoyo Usman
2. MILITARY COMMANDER REGION IX
(covers Bali, Lombok and Nusa Tenggara
including East Timor)
Brigadier-General R. Adang Ruchiatna
Pangdam IX/Udayana
Markas Besar KODAM IX Udayana
Denpasar
Bali, Indonesia
Telegrams: Pangdam IX/Udayana, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
Salutation: Dear Brigadier-General Adang Ruchiatna
COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO:
Lt. Gen. (Ret) Ali Said
Chairman, National Commission on Human Rights
c/o Directorat Jenderal Pemasyarakatan
Jl. Veteran No. 11
Jakarta Pusat
Indonesia
and to diplomatic representatives of Indonesia accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat,
or your section office, if sending appeals after 25 July 1994.