Ángela Freitas is an

East Timorese East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-wester ...

politician, who is the leader of the Timorese Labor Party and ran in the 2017 East Timorese presidential election.

Biography

While a student, Ángela Freitas was tortured by the

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( id, Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat (TNI-AD), ) is the land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,000 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its ...

during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. In 1988, she worked for the Institute of Human Rights within Indonesia, moving on to work for

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

in 1989 as secretary of

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. In the 1990s she fled to Australia, where she studied at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. Graduating with qualifications in political science and medicine, she started work at a hospital in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. This included a secondment into the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, where she worked on board a patrol vessel which intercepted refugee boats. Following the end of the Indonesian occupation in 1999, she returned to

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

. Freitas became the leader of the Timorese Labor Party, a party founded in 1974 by her father Paulo Freitas. In 2001, she was placed in a men's prison along with her children, accused of the murder of an Australian. After two weeks, she was released without charge, the victim was never found. Freitas attempted to run during the

2012 East Timorese presidential election Presidential elections were held in East Timor on 17 March 2012, with a second round on 16 April 2012. Incumbent president José Ramos-Horta, who was eligible for a second and final term as president, announced that he would seek nomination to ...

, but her candidacy was rejected by the President of the Supreme Court after she failed to meet the criteria to stand. She was blamed in 2004 by the East Timor Government for a series of protests against

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Xanana Gusmão José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. A former rebel, he was the third President of the independent East Timor, serving from 2002 to 2007. He then became its fourth prime minister, serving from ...

. After undergoing surgery in

Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...

in 2014, she was arrested upon her return to East Timor. Freitas was arrested again the following year, after allegedly supporting

Mauk Moruk Mauk Moruk, born Paulino Gama, (22 June 1955 – 8 August 2015) was an East Timorese former Falintil guerrilla commander, opposition figure, and rebel leader of the Maubere Revolutionary Council (KRM). Moruk was a critic of the policies of the in ...

. Freitas ran once again for President during the 2017 East Timorese presidential election. She finished seventh in the polling, with a total of 4,353 votes, equivalent to a 0.84% share.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freitas, Angela Living people East Timorese politicians University of Queensland alumni Royal Australian Navy personnel East Timorese women in politics East Timorese torture victims Year of birth missing (living people)