26 November 2017

Portuguese convicts who fled Timor-Leste arrived in Lisbon!

Image: Observador
!WARNING! MACHINE TRANSLATION ORIGINAL PORTUGUESE TEXT Observador 11/25/2017, 12:14 PM The Portuguese Tiago and Fong Fong Guerra, who fled to Australia after being convicted of embezzlement in East Timor, arrived this morning in Lisbon, where they were received by a dozen relatives, but they refused to speak to journalists.

Claiming he had no problem speaking to the media, Tiago Guerra said he would not do so at the airport.

The couple's escape marred diplomatic tension between Portugal and Timor-Leste, with the subject raising criticism from political leaders and civil society, with articles demanding investigations from the Portuguese embassy in Dili.

Last week, the Portuguese Foreign Minister, Augusto Santos Silva, assured that the embassy in Díli respected the Portuguese legislation when assigning passports to the couple.

Following the flight to Australia, Augusto Santos Silva ordered an urgent inquiry into the Diplomatic and Consular General Inspection, the conclusion of which was delivered on Thursday.

The Guerra couple renewed their citizen cards earlier this year, and more recently Portuguese passports were issued, prompting criticism in the Timorese press.

Tiago and Fong Fong Guerra were convicted in August by a panel of judges of the Dili District Court to eight years in prison and compensation of $ 859,000 for embezzlement (fraudulent use of public money).

The Portuguese appealed the sentence, considering that it suffered from "insanitary nullities" more common in "undemocratic regimes", based on manipulated evidence and even prohibited.

An "international extradition request to Portugal with provisional detention" was sent to the Portuguese Attorney General, Joana Marques Vidal, with knowledge of the Minister of Justice, Francisca Van-Dúnem, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva , according to a letter from the lawyer of the couple to whom Lusa had access.

Portuguese citizens are entitled to identification documents as Portuguese citizens, regardless of their legal situation, provided they do not violate certain legal provisions. In this case, there was no such violation, according to our inquiry, the applicable Portuguese legislation was complied with and, therefore, the passports were assigned, in compliance with the law, "said Santos Silva.

The Guerra Case - Contempt of the East Timorese Judiciary from as far as Europe
Government ensures compliance with the law in the case of Portuguese convicts in TimorTheir conviction

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