Dili, August 14, 2025 (Média Democracia) – The Judicial System Monitoring Program (JSMP) issued a press release regarding victims in domestic violence cases in connection with mobile court hearings, emphasizing that such hearings help reduce travel expenses. Therefore, JSMP requests that mobile tribunals continue to operate in municipalities. The press conference was accessed by Media Demokrasi through JSMP’s page this week, Thursday.
JSMP Executive Director, Ana Paula Marçal, stated at the press conference that from 21 to 24 July 2025, the Suai District Court continued to hold mobile court hearings in Bobonaro Municipality.
“During these mobile court sessions, JSMP approached and spoke with a victim in a case of simple physical assault with the nature of domestic violence (DV). The victim informed JSMP that in the past, she and her husband had another case that was tried at the Suai District Court. In that previous case, she recalled that she and her husband had to spend money to rent a vehicle costing US$250.00 in order to attend the hearing. However, thanks to the mobile court session held in Bobonaro Municipality, the victim felt happy because her expenses were reduced, she only had to pay US$5.00 for transport to attend the trial,” said JSMP Executive Director, Ana Paula Marçal.
The Executive Director further explained that the victim recommended the Suai District Court to continue holding mobile court hearings so that community members with limited means would not have to spend large amounts on transportation to attend trials.
“JSMP appreciates the mobile court program and requests all District Courts to continue holding mobile hearings in municipalities that do not have a permanent court. This not only helps reduce the backlog of pending cases, but also helps reduce travel costs (especially transportation) for participants, particularly victims and witnesses, as mentioned by this DV victim,” said the JSMP Executive Director.
The Director informed that during this mobile court session, JSMP was able to monitor a total of 15 cases. Of these, 4 were gender-based violence (GBV) cases, 8 were smuggling cases, 1 was a simple damage case, 1 was a threat case, and 1 was an aggravated theft case. All cases tried during the mobile court session had already received verdicts.
“Of the total 15 cases decided, three (3) cases of simple physical assault with the nature of DV resulted in fines of US$45.00, while one (1) case of the same crime resulted in a sentence of six months’ imprisonment, suspended for one year,” informed Ana Paula Marçal.
She further stated that for smuggling cases, five (5) defendants were fined US$60.00, one (1) was fined US$80.00, and one (1) was fined US$120.00, while one (1) was acquitted. Meanwhile, in one (1) threat case and one (1) simple damage case, the court granted requests to withdraw the complaint. In the aggravated theft case, the defendant was acquitted.
Explaining further on JSMP’s general observations during these mobile court hearings, she said that all parties involved cooperated well and attended according to the date and time set by the court. Therefore, JSMP requests that mobile courts continue to operate in all territories in order to reduce the travel expenses to municipal courts.
Reporter: Nelfiano
Photo: Media JSMP