Arnie Teves Jr. Lawyer Says Lawmaker Was Released From Detention in Timor-Leste
ARNIE TEVES – Former Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. was freed from detention in Timor Leste.
Three months have passed since former lawmaker Arnolfo Teves Jr. was arrested in Dili, Timor-Leste. His arrest occurred three weeks after the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) issued a red notice for him and the Manila Regional Trial Court invalidated his passport.
Teves faces charges for the 2023 murder of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo and nine others, an event referred to as the Pamplona Massacre.
Arnolfo Teves Jr. had consistently denied the allegations before going into hiding. He was eventually arrested in Timor-Leste while playing golf in March 2024.
Based on a report from Inquirer, Teves Jr. has been released from Becora Prison in Dili, Timor-Leste, according to his lawyer, Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, in a statement to reporters.
“The request for extradition by the Philippine Government was made out of time and in a manner that is not sanctioned by practice and customary international law,” Topacio said.
“In other words, our government ‘screwed up.’ Thus, his imprisonment was declared illegal,” he noted.
According to the report, Topacio mentioned that his counterparts in Timor-Leste informed him that Teves will undergo further proceedings regarding his stay in Timor-Leste, starting tomorrow (Tuesday). He will be present, along with witnesses in his favor, including former Human Rights Commissioner Wilhelm Soriano, who will testify as a human rights expert.
“The road to justice for Mr. Teves will be long and hard, bloody and painful, but we will never surrender, to paraphrase Winston Churchill,” he added.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has not yet commented on the situation.