Australia

23 May 2007

Australia alleged to have covered up murders of the Balibo Five

As a Glebe Coroner’s Court inquest into the murders of cameraman Brian Peters and four other TV journalists in the East Timor town of Balibo on 16 October 1975 draws to a close, Reporters Without Borders today called on deputy state coroner Dorelle Pinch to use all possible national and international police and judicial mechanisms to arrest those responsible. The press freedom organisation said...

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11 May 2007

"Balibo Five" inquest: former Australian prime minister suggests journalists acted irresponsibly

Reporters Without Borders has hailed the progress being made in the inquest into the 1975 deaths of cameraman Brian Peters and four other journalists in East Timor but deplored some of the comments made to the Coroners Court in Sydney on 8 May 2007 by former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and his defence minister, Bill Morrison. "We share the anger expressed by some of the journalists' close...

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10 May 2007

"Balibo Five" inquest told one of the journalists killed may have violated neutrality

The Media Alliance has given evidence calling for greater uniform safety training for journalists at the NSW Coroner's inquest into the deaths of five Australian-based newsmen at Balibo, East Timor, in 1975. Deputy state coroner Dorelle Pinch is examining the murder of Brian Peters and four of his colleagues during the Indonesian invasion of Balibo. The official line has always been that the five...

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4 May 2007

Inquest into the deaths of "Balibo five" resumes after two-month suspension

Reporters Without Borders today hailed the resumption this week of an inquest into the murders of cameraman Brian Peters and four other journalists 32 years ago in East Timor, saying it hoped every aspect of their deaths would be clarified and insisting that it was not too late for those responsible to be punished. After suspending hearings for two months, a Sydney coroner resumed the inquest...

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5 March 2007

Demand for justice in "Balibo five" murders

Reporters Without Borders called for justice in the case of five journalists killed almost 30 years ago in East Timor as the judge at a coroner’s court in Glebe, Sydney (Australia) adjourned the three-week old inquiry to 1st May. The worldwide press freedom organisation said that based on testimony so far, it was possible to assert that British journalist Brian Peters and his four colleagues were...

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27 February 2007

Under government pressure, Balibo Five hearings to be held in secret

Reporters Without Borders has voiced outrage at the pressure applied by the Australian federal government so that three hearings in a coroner's enquiry into the death of Brian Peters and four others journalists in East Timor in 1975 are held in camera. "The secrecy now surrounding the hearings is the result of disquiet within the government about the increasingly serious allegations of lying by...

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