DILI, 15 december 2023 (TATOLI) – Deputy of the Fretelin party, Joaquim dos Santos Borluli, said that the President of the Republic’s decision to pardon Emília Pires and Madalena Hanjam does not enhance the country’s justice system, as it encourages the idea of political favoritism on the part of the two political parties, CNRT and Partido Democrático, which voted for the pardon law in the final overall vote.
“The approval of a law that allows political favoritism will weaken the justice system in our country, namely by devaluing the decision of the courts, in this case, the decision of the Dili District Court,” said the MP, speaking to journalists at the National Parliament.
According to the MP, one of the criteria for a convict to benefit from a pardon from the President of the Republic is to have served a third of their effective prison sentence. But Emília Pires and Madalena Hanjam have not served any effective prison sentences if the decision of the judges of the Dili Court is taken into account.
Joaquim dos Santos also pointed out that the approval of the Law on the Granting of Pardons and Commutations of Sentences passed by the National Parliament, namely via the CNRT and PD benches, allowed anyone to submit a request for a pardon to the Head of State.
The CNRT MP, Patrocínio Fernandes, revealed that applying the law in question is the unequivocal competence of the Head of State. “I think the Head of State has the power to identify any citizen serving a court sentence in prison and grant a pardon. That’s why I don’t want to comment on the Head of State’s decision or the parliamentary bench’s criticism of political favoritism.”
The Vice-Minister of Justice for Institutional Strengthening, Paulo Remédios, said that it was not strictly necessary to serve a third of the prison sentence since, citing humanitarian reasons, the President of the Republic could grant a pardon to anyone.
Meanwhile, The President of the Republic, José Ramos Horta, has pardoned Emília Pires and Madalena Hanjam, based on the Law on the Procedure for Granting Pardons and Commutations of Sentences.
“I do not pardon anyone, but I have pardoned based on the facts that I have always analyzed appropriately. I know the case of Emília Pires and Madalena Hanjam very well. The approval of the new law by the parliamentarians dignified the Constitution of the Republic. That’s why I pardoned Emília Pires and Madalena Hanjam. Emília Pires’ case has not been resolved in ten years. That’s why the idea of ‘justice delayed, justice denied’ is appropriate in the pardon,” said Ramos Horta, speaking to journalists at the Presidential Palace, Bairru-Pité.
The Head of State also stressed that the cases of Emília Pires and Madalena Hanjam are not cases of murder, blood, armed robbery, or crimes against humanity. “For me, in crimes of blood and murder, you have to be very careful, but these cases are not crimes of blood.”
The public has been concerned with the decision of the Head of State for Granting Pardons and Commutations of Sentences, and it has also become a public discussion on various platforms of media so far.
Journalist: José Belarmino de Sá
Editorː Rafael Ximenes de A. Belo
