Was East Timor rebel leader executed by presidential guard?
East Timorese rebel leader Alfredo Reinado and his chief lieutenant may have been executed after the assassination attempt on President Jose Ramos Horta in February, an autopsy report suggests. The autopsy on Reinado and his fellow rebel Leopoldino Exposto, who were shot dead at President Horta’s home, indicates that the men were shot at point blank range according to The Australian newspaper which has obtained a copy of the report. Reinado, an Australian trained major who has waged a year long mutiny against Mr Ramos Horta’s government, was shot in the eye, neck, chest and head. The entry wounds show burning and blackening that is indicative of weapons fired at point black range, said experts. Exposto was shot in the back of the head at “close range”, typical of an execution style killing, said the autopsy. Officially, the two rebels were caught unawares inside the President’s compound on February 11 and were killed in a gun battle with palace guards after the assassination attempt on
