Journalist
Raimundos Oki calls it an honest mistake, the PM says it was defamation, and a
young democracy is tested
“If
the court wants to send me to jail, I won’t be happy but I have to be brave. I
will accept the final decision. I’m ready to be in prison if the court maybe
wants to put me in the prison.”
Raimundos
Oki, a 32-year-old journalist, is standing in the small offices of the Timor
Post, in Timor-Leste’s capital Dili, exasperated with his government.
“I’m
not a corruptor, I’m not a criminal.”
Oki
is facing jail time as the country’s prime minister pursues a criminal
defamation case against him and the Timor Post.
Last
week Oki appeared in court alongside his former editor, Lourenco Martins
Vicente, where prosecutors pushed for one year’s jail for Oki and a two-year
suspended sentence for Martins. The pair will learn their fate and any
subsequent sentence next week.
Ahead
of the sentencing decision, human rights and press freedom organisations
including Amnesty, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and
international media unions have again called on authorities to drop the case.
A
November 2015 article claimed Rui Maria de Araújo, as an adviser to the finance
minister, had recommended a winning bid for a government supply contract, but
misnamed the company.
As
Oki recounts from the prosecution’s case, Araújo believes the article made
damaging and incorrect insinuations which hurt his reputation.
Under Timor-Leste press
law, Araújo was given a right of reply the following week, and a correction of
Oki’s report and apology was published the following day.
But
in January 2016, Araújo – who
became prime minister in early 2015 – filed a criminal defamation suit
and has dismissed subsequent pleas to back down.
“I
already said publicly that there was a mistake, we recognised our mistake
publicly,” says Oki. “I’m not scared but I’m worried about the laws here in
Timor-Leste ... You don’t use the penal code to criminalise the journalists.”
It
is the second
time Oki has been charged with a crime over an article.
Jane
Worthington, program and development director for IFJ Asia Pacific, says
the mistake was dealt with “as is the international standard” and the criminal
case was “outrageous”.
“It’s
going to leave a black mark on Timor-Leste and also it just sends a really bad
message out to authoritarian regimes who see this as an inspiration that they
can lock up journalists for what is effectively criminal defamation,” she tells
the Guardian.
Worthington
says Oki’s story is still in the public interest, and the chilling effect on
local media would be “debilitating”.
“It’s
quite hypocritical to be on one hand promising the country as a beacon of press
freedom, when you could have journalists thrown into jail,” says Worthington.
“This
is not a standard the country can be proud of.”
José
Belo, Timorese journalist and former head of the Timor-Leste press union,
accused government leaders of using the law to oppress media.
“When
Oki and Lourenco from the Timor Post, go to jail, that’s the beginning of a new
era of the country’s leaders killing the free press,” he said last week.
Amnesty
International says it believes Oki’s mistake was made in good faith, and has
pointed to the Timor-Leste constitution as well, as domestic and international
law which provides for freedom of expression and the press and the protection
of journalists.
Because
of the court case, Oki was unable to get a visa to Australia to spend time in
ABC and Fairfax newsrooms, at the invitation of the ABC and the Department of
Foreign Affairs and Trade, and separately, the Australian media entertainment
and arts alliance, under the Balibo Five-Roger East Fellowship.
“It
was extremely disappointing that because of the charges hanging over his head,
that visit was unable to proceed,” says MEAA chief executive, Paul Murphy.
“MEAA
strongly condemns the use of defamation law to attempt to inhibit media
scrutiny in Timor-Leste. This is a backward step for press freedom in the
still-young democracy in Timor.”
The
Guardian has spoken to a number of Timor-Leste government members and
bureaucrats who maintain that their country respects press freedom but that Oki
broke the law and must face the consequences. None believes there is a problem
with the law.
At
a speaking event in Darwin earlier this month, former president José Ramos-Horta
said the country was “100% committed to free media”, but had different
understandings of the concept.
“Does
an individual have a freedom to such an extent that he or she can offend another
with innuendo and allegations that are unproven?
“Rui
is a man of absolute integrity, and he was angry – rightly so – when this
completely false allegation was printed. The journalist knew it was false so
they apologised. Rui said: no this is not enough.”
Horta
also rejected suggestions Timorese media laws were draconian, and said they
were similar to European laws.
The
possible jailing of a journalist comes at a crucial time in Timor-Leste’s
approach to press freedom as it rebuilds a democratic republic following
Indonesian occupation.
The
country dropped 26 places in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom
index after it adopted media laws which included a requirement that all
journalists be formally registered.
The
subsequent creation of a statutory press council – which would oversee the
registrations – was tentatively welcomed but its independence has been
questioned given it is government-funded and includes two parliamentary
nominees.
“The
idea of a government-funded body giving approval to who can be a journalist is
just a worry,” says Worthington. “This should be left to the adjudication of
the media industry.”
Oki
and Martins face court for sentencing next week. The IFJ and others will attend
to continue their lobbying and report on the proceedings.
The
office of Araújo has been contacted for comment
Helen Davidson |
in Dili | The Guardian
Photo:
Prosecutors pushed for one year’s jail for Raimundos Oki, pictured, and two
years suspended for his former editor Lourenco Martins Vicente. Photograph:
Helen Davidson for the Guardian
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