The Public Defender’s Office, through Sérgio Hornai, inducted five Public Defender trainees, on Friday, June 21st, at the Public Defender building, in the Mascarenhas neighbourhood.

“It is with great honor that this autonomous institution, under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice, and following several years of joint efforts with our partners, to achieve further development and improvement, is now providing assistance to our citizens, in compliance with the law and the Constitution. This induction ceremony is one step further, from the point of view of a future perspective”, Sérgio Hornai stated.

The Minister of Justice, Dionísio Babo Soares, highlighted in his speech: “on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, and as President of the Superior Council of the Public Defender, I welcome the five trainees, who are taking over as Public Defenders. Even though Timor-Leste is a recently independent state, it is a different nation from other countries, because the State has already established a Public Defender’s Office. There are other countries where this institution still does not exist”.

“In addition to the creation of the Public Defender’s Office, the State also established the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Courts, which are essential in a democratic country, to be able to provide legal assistance to our citizens when facing the Court,” the Minister of Justice defended.