(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has protested the East Timor government’s expulsion of Australian freelance journalist Julian King even though a court in Dili had cleared him of charges brought by the police. On 28 June 2004, King was deported to Australia on order of the Interior Ministry. This is the first major press freedom violation since […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has protested the East Timor government’s expulsion of Australian freelance journalist Julian King even though a court in Dili had cleared him of charges brought by the police.
On 28 June 2004, King was deported to Australia on order of the Interior Ministry. This is the first major press freedom violation since East Timor gained its independence in 2002.
An appeals court had ordered the return of King’s passport, refused to remand him in custody and ruled that the police did not have sufficient evidence against him. King had been accused of “subversive” activities.
The only established wrong committed by King was that his work upset the government of Mari Alkatiri, said RSF. The organisation expressed dismay that the authorities had not respected the court ruling that King was innocent. This contempt for the courts does nothing to enhance the standing of the country’s first democratic government. RSF has written to President Xanana Gusmao asking him to intervene to allow the journalist to return.
Upon arrival in Darwin, northern Australia, King said that he would appeal to the East Timor Supreme Court. His Timorese lawyer, Pedro de Oliveira, said the expulsion flew in the face of the evidence. He told the Associated Press, “The government is trying to cover up the fact that it lost this case before the court. This means that the government is stronger than the court.”
The authorities in Dili have so far refused to confirm that King has been expelled. Some high-level officials have been engaged in a campaign to discredit King, who has lived in East Timor for more than four years. Prime Minister Alkatiri has accused King of taking part in the torching of his house and destabilising government institutions. Foreign Minister José Ramos-Horta accused RSF of being a “racist” organisation for defending King.
The government has also tried to cast doubt on King’s journalistic credentials. However, RSF has been able to confirm with Australian radio stations 2SERFM, 3CRFM and 4ZZZFM, as well as the Australian Television News Agency, that King did indeed work for them in East Timor.
King, also a PhD student, was one of only a few foreign journalists to speak the official language Tetun, which made it possible for him to closely follow political events in the country.
BACKGROUND:
On 5 May 2004, King was arrested close to his Dili home. Police officers, including a former member of the Indonesian military, had planted munitions in his bedroom and seized a number of files, most notably on corruption and the “Timor Gap” agreement that allows Australia to exploit a significant part of the Timor Sea’s gas and oil reserves.
