A Papua New Guinea court application to stop the news media from reporting on an alleged sexual offence incident involving Goroka MP Aiye Tambua has been thrown out.

Magistrate Paul Puri Nii, sitting in the Waigani Committal Court, refused the application by Tambua’s lawyer yesterday, saying media freedom was everybody’s freedom.

“People won’t kill you,” Nil told the MP.

“You are a leader, and you are subject to critics [sic]. For me, I am not going to bar the media.

“Being a magistrate, being a judge, being a leader, you are subject to critics, and that’s nothing. That’s going to either correct you or lead you in the wrong direction. But it’s up to you.

“I advocate for media freedom so I think that [for that] aspect of the motion, I will refuse it.”

Nii said the media were “the ears and the eyes of people” and that was why he advocated for media freedom.

Allowed to travel
The magistrate granted the motion seeking orders to allow Tambua, 45, to travel out of Port Moresby, but said he had to return before May 9, which was the next court appearance date.

Tambua, through his lawyer Edward Sasingian, filed a motion seeking orders to:

• ALLOW the defendant to continue to travel out of Port Moresby; and
• RESTRICT the media from reporting on the case on the basis that the media has caused repercussions on the defendant and the victims.

Sasingian also informed the court that he had served a copy of the motion on the prosecution and both had agreed on the position to restrict media until a determination is made in the committal proceedings.

He referred to a District Court decision which barred the media from reporting, but Nii said: “For me, I advocate media freedom. Other magistrates may bar the media but this is court room two, my court, so media has the freedom to report.”

Report on facts
Nii also urged media to report on facts.

“If you want to report on the matter, come to the courts, get the court files and report on the matter,” he said.

Tambua’s case was adjourned until May 9, for further mention, after the prosecution informed the court that police were still doing investigations to establish the allegations and produce a brief.

The MP, from Goroka’s Massy village, Eastern Highlands, was alleged to have committed the sexual offences on the three victims (all family members) on different occasions over a period of time.

Tambua is facing 26 charges and had his bail extended.

Boura Goru Kila is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

The trial of a former US priest accused of child abuse in Timor-Leste due to resume tomorrow at the Oecusse Court has been postponed until May 24, according to judicial sources.

The president of the Court of Appeal, Deolindo dos Santos, confirmed the postponement to Lusa news agency, explaining that he was asked by the lawyers for the defendant, Richard Daschbach. He was concerned with the current conditions due to the covid-19 sanitary lockdown in the Timorese capital.

The judge explained that the rules of the lockdown obliged anyone who has to travel to present negative covid-19 tests, and that the conduct of the trial required the trip to the Oecusse enclave of one of the judges hearing the case, the translator, the lawyers of defence and the defendant, members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and other parties involved.

“An application was made for the defendant’s defence to the Oecusse Court, which notified the Public Ministry to respond. The court received this response and issued an order to postpone it until May 24,” said dos Santos.

Daschbach, who is under house arrest in Dili, began trial in February for crimes of child abuse, child pornography and domestic violence.

The trial, which is closed to the public, had two sessions scheduled on March 22 and 23.

Daschbach was expelled from the Congregation of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) in East Timor and from the priesthood by the Vatican for the “committed and admitted abuse of minors” in an orphanage in the country, Topu Honis.

“SVD Timor-Leste wants to emphatically reiterate that based on the heinous crime committed and admitted of child abuse at the Topu Honis orphanage, Mr Richard Daschbach was expelled, after an ecclesiastical criminal process, from the religious and clerical state by the Congregation for Doctrine da Fé, in the Vatican, on November 6, 2018,” said a recent communiqué of the organisation.

Deolindo dos Santos told Lusa that given the evolution of the cases of covid-19 and with sanitary fences in effect, the judiciary was working to “enable judgments to take place at a distance” by video conferencing.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

West Papuans are facing the start of 2021 with sorrowful news about the death of Mispo Gwijangge, a victim of accusations and torture over alleged crimes he did not commit.

Some human rights advocates and lawyers, including Amnesty International Indonesia, have expressed their condolences for his death in Wamena on January 6, reports Tabloid Jubi.

Amnesty International Indonesia says Gwijangge was charged over the killing of 17 PT Istaka Karya workers in Nduga at the end of 2018.

The Papua Advocacy Team found a number of irregularities in the case.

Gwijangge, who was not fluent in the Indonesian language, explained through the help of an interpreter that he did not commit the murders he was accused of.

He said he was in a refugee camp in Wamena when the murder of PT Istaka Karya took place on December 2, 2018. Gwijangge was sentenced to death, even though he was still under age, who should not have been given a death sentence, say advocates.

Amnesty International Indonesia turut berduka cita sedalam-dalamnya atas kepergian Mispo Gwijangge, orang asli Papua korban penyiksaan dan rekayasa kasus pembunuhan di Nduga tahun 2018. pic.twitter.com/DPg2SMp1rS

— Amnesty International Indonesia (@amnestyindo) January 7, 2021

Michel Himan, one of Gwijangge’s defence lawyers who handled the case, while expressing his deep condolences, said that Gwijangge had been arrested on 12 May 2018. He was only 14 years old when he was detained at the Jayawijaya police headquarters.

In prison cell for 333 days
For 333 days, he remained in a prison cell and was often tortured.

Himan said that without the knowledge of his family Gwijangge had been transferred to Jakarta for “security reasons”, while the trial of another case at the same time went smoothly.

Gwijangge was forced to accept this unjust legal process. He had never committed the murder, say advocates.

Himan, who is known as a prominent young lawyer from Papua in the Indonesian capital, recalls his conversation with Gwijangge at Salemba prison in Jakarta.

“Mispo said, ‘I never went to school. I can’t read and write and have never been out of town, always live in the village, I’ve never been involved as alleged, I don’t know anything.’

“’I just wanted to go home because no one takes care of my mum. My mum is alone in the jungle [temporary refugee camp], Mispo told Himan while staring at the clouds.

“My head is dizzy, and I am worried about my mother, I just wanted to get back to Papua as soon as possilble,” Himan recalls about what Gwijangge told him.

Pneumonia, back pain
Gwijangge was badly sick with pneumonia and back pain as a result of the torture he had received.

“We were all worried about his situation at that time. We have done our best to help him for the sake of healing,” said Himan.

Tabloid Jubi reports that according to Mispo’s older sister with initials DG, Gwijangge had still been traumatised after being arrested in the middle of last year. He was accused of being involved in the murder of dozens of Trans Papuan Highway workers in Nduga regency in early December 2018.

“He didn’t want to take medication. He was worried that someone would try to find fault with him, and then he would be arrested again,” said DG.

Gwijangge’s family decided to take care of him from home.

Nduga refugees volunteer Raga Kogeya said it was natural that Mispo Gwijangge had still been traumatised. The youth had been arrested and accused of crimes he did not commit.

At that time, the threat was the maximum of a death penalty.

Luckily, the panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court, who tried the Gwijangge case, rejected all of the charges against him by the public prosecutor.

The judges were willing to consider various irregularities presented by Gwijangge’s legal team. Finally, they decided to drop the prosecution and to free him from detention.

This report has been compiled by a special Pacific Media Watch correspondent. Tabloid Jubi articles are republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz