Dili, 29 June 2019 (Lusa)
Former Timorese ministers Emília Pires and Madalena Hanjam remain without a final decision on their case, after what the defence described as a “nightmare” of several years. The Court of Appeal annulled the first-instance sentence but issued no final verdict.
Court of Appeal Ruling
“Two years later, the Court of Appeal confirms that the sentence is null and void, but it does not solve the case,” the defence attorney told Lusa. “The sentence did not go unappealable because of the appeal and therefore the two defendants were never convicted.”
Defence lawyer Nuno Morais Sarmento stressed that the Appeal Court’s decision confirms the lower court’s judgment was “absolutely unacceptable from a technical point of view,” citing a “disregard of more than 90 matters of fact” essential to the trial.
“We have no idea how many more years it will take,” said Morais Sarmento, referring to a case that has been dragging on since 2012.
Criticism of the Lower Court
Morais Sarmento was pointed in his criticism of the judges who handled the first-instance proceedings:
- The panel disregarded over 90 material facts essential to the criminal trial.
- Some facts were never considered during the hearing; others were heard but “forgotten” in the sentence.
- The lawyer called for serious retraining of the magistrates involved, arguing they were not in a position to decide any process with such a significant lack of factual consideration — particularly in criminal matters that can lead to deprivation of liberty.
“It’s not a matter of justice, it’s a coin in the air,” he said.
What Happens Next
In practical terms, the case has been returned to the Dili District Court, which faces a choice:
- Reopen the trial to consider the facts that were disregarded; or
- Redo the sentence to fill the deficiencies of the original ruling.
Morais Sarmento described the second option as “absurd” in cases where there was a “gross disregard of de facto matter at the trial hearing.” He argued the court cannot simply rewrite the sentence without at least a partial repetition of the judgment, since witnesses who were not heard and procedural steps not taken are deficiencies that cannot be overcome on paper alone.
Delays and Procedural Failures
The defence also highlighted that the Public Prosecutor’s appeal went unaddressed for more than two years, which Morais Sarmento called “as extraordinary as the other failures” in the proceeding. He attributed this to conditions within the country’s judicial system, where “there is a written rule and a practical reality that have nothing to do with each other.”
The excessive delay, he argued, harmed the defendants by keeping them under restrictions in their personal and professional lives for years without a single word from the Court of Appeal.
Current Situation of the Defendants
| Defendant | Status |
|---|---|
| Emília Pires | Currently in Portugal, where she travelled shortly before the first-instance sentence and remained for health reasons |
| Madalena Hanjam | In Timor-Leste, subject to a Term of Identity and Residence (TIR) |
Frederico Bettencourt Ferreira, of the defence team of Emília Pires, was contacted by Lusa but forwarded any declarations to a later date.
Trial Conditions
Morais Sarmento recalled the “difficult conditions of the trial” and what he described as the “unacceptable arrogance of the judge,” who he accused of deliberately spreading hearings over time to make the participation of Portuguese lawyers economically unbearable or professionally impossible.
“It was a very hard trial, in which the collective did not collaborate minimally — it did not try to create the best conditions for the defence. Collaboration was always below the minimum, regarding copies, recordings of hearings, scheduling of hearings,” he said.
He accused the panel of maintaining an “objective attitude of non-impartiality,” which made him concerned about what would happen when the case returned to the first instance.
Background: The Original 2016 Conviction
In December 2016, the two former officials were convicted of irregularities in the purchase of hundreds of hospital beds under two contracts awarded to Hanjam’s husband’s company, with alleged collusion between the three parties for a deal worth $800,000.
- Emília Pires — former Finance Minister — sentenced to 7 years in prison for economic participation in business; acquitted of harmful administration.
- Madalena Hanjam — former Deputy Minister of Health — sentenced to 4 years in prison for the same crime; also acquitted of harmful administration.
The defence has stated it will only be satisfied with the process “as long as the acquittal” of the defendants is the final outcome. “That day I am happy because that is the result that I consider fair,” Morais Sarmento said.