Autópsia a Alfredo Reinado indicia execução na casa do Presidente de Timor-Leste

13.08.2008 - 16h01 PÚBLICO
As autópsias a Alfredo Reinado e Leopoldino Exposto, que morreu a seu lado dentro na residência do Presidente de Timor-Leste, mostram que foram mortos com armas encostadas ou muito próximas do corpo, revela o jornal "The Australian" no seu site.

Segundo as conclusões do patologista forense que conduziu as autópsias, Muhammad Nurul Islam, citado pelo jornal, Reinado e Exposto foram mortos "a curta distância" com uma arma de alta velocidade.A versão até agora pública era que Alfredo Reinado, um major de 42 anos com formação na Austrália, que liderava um motim há um ano, e Leopoldino Exposto tinham sido apanhados desprevenidos quando entravam no recinto da residência de Ramos-Horta, a 11 de Fevereiro, e tinham sido mortos por um guarda a uma distância de pelo menos dez a quinze metros.Mas agora veio saber-se que Exposto foi morto com um tiro no centro da nuca disparado de "muito próximo", o que é típico de uma morte por execução, e que os quatro orifícios de bala no corpo de Reinado apresentavam em seu redor queimaduras e um escurecimento significativo.Novas dúvidas sobre o que aconteceu"The Australian" cita ainda um especialista australiano do Instituto de Medicina Forense do estado de Vitória que diz ser consensual e muito claro nesta especialidade que "queimado e escurecimento são característicos de tiros a muito curta distância, provavelmente a menos de um pé [cerca de 30 cm]".A 11 de Fevereiro, o Presidente de Timor-Leste foi atingido por váriso tiros quando regressava a casa após a sua corrida matinal, e um dos seus guardas foi morto. Ficou num coma prolongado e esteve às portas da morte em Darwin, Austrália, onde foi tratado.No mesmo dia e quase à mesma hora, o primeiro-ministro e ex-Presidente, Xanana Gusmão, saiu ileso de um atentado à coluna de veículos que o transporta de casa para o seu gabinete."The Australian" diz que estes dados das autópsias permitem concluir que os acontecimentos no recinto da residência presidencial não são tão claros como tinham sido descritos até aqui e que é de admitir que Reinado e Exposto possam ter sido atraídos para uma armadilha ou ter sido feitos prisioneiros antes de serem executados.



East Timor rebel could have been executed
Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:59pm EDT
CANBERRA, Aug 13 (Reuters) - An autopsy of East Timor rebel leader Alfredo Reinado and a top lieutenant pointed to their execution, rather than being shot by security forces during a presidential assassination attempt, a report said on Wednesday.The autopsy showed rebel soldier Leopoldino Exposto was shot once in the back of the head at "close range" following the February 11 assassination attempt on President Jose Ramos Horta, the Australian newspaper said.Reinado, the 42-year-old army major who led a year-long mutiny against the government, was also shot and killed at Ramos Horta's presidential compound and four bullet entry wounds showed he was also shot at extreme close range."There were multiple complex gunshot wound (sic) on the left face surrounding the left eye, base of nose, upper cheek and forehead with laceration and blackening of the skin," Reinado's autopsy said.Reports of executions by security forces could stoke fresh tensions in the fledgling country, where ethnic tensions are still raw.East Timor has been unable to achieve stability since its hard-won independence, with the army splitting along regional lines in 2006, triggering violence that killed 37 people and drove 150,000 from their homes.The autopsy said burning and blackening around Reinado's wounds in the eye, neck, chest and hand suggested he had been shot at a distance of less than 30 cms, rather than by guards standing 10 metres away, which is the official version of events."Burning and blackening is a feature of very close-range shots, probably from less than a foot away. If you see burning and soot-type burning, it indicates that the barrel of the gun was very close to the skin's surface," David Ranson, of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, told the newspaper.Nobel Peace Prize winner Ramos Horta was critically wounded in the assassination attempt and he spent two months recovering in Australia, where he was flown for life-saving surgery.The attack also targetted Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who escaped injury.The autopsies were conducted by forensic pathologist Muhammad Nurul Islam, who wrote that Exposto and Reinado were killed with a high-velocity rifle.Nurul said Reinado's wounds featured "blackening/burning" especially so in his left eye, where the marks covered a large 10cm x 9cm area, possibly indicating a point-blank shot.Chest wounds also featured burning and blackening, despite the fact Reinado was wearing a heavy black ammunition vest. Exposto had a "satellite shaped gunshot wound on the back of the head centrally located", the report said. A United Nations report into the assassination attempt has not yet been released, while a criminal investigation by East Timor's prosecutor-general is running late.Nurul said the question whether Reinado had launched his attack because of a drinking or drug binge would never be answered, as the Dili morgue had no toxicological testing equipment, the newspaper said.More than 2,500 foreign troops and police remain in the country to help local security forces maintain stability. (Reporting by Rob Taylor; Editing by David Fogarty)