Prisoners escape from Becora prison
Judicial System Monitoring Programme, Dili 10/8/01
Earlier today nine prisoners escaped from Becora prison in Dili. They all escaped from cellblock C, although detailed information on who escaped is still unknown. Some of the 10 accused in the ongoing Los Palos trial live in the same block of the Becora prison. JSMP has, however, been informed that none of these accused are among the escaped prisoners.
Two prisoners, one of them convicted by the Special Panel for Serious Crimes, escaped from Becora prison earlier this year but were later recaptured.
Of the 9 prisoners who escaped today, 2 have been recaptured and 7 are still at large.
The director of prison services in East Timor is currently out of the country, and is unavailable for comments.
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