Alfredo Reinado Alfredo Alves Reinado ( November 11 , 1968 – February 11 , 2008 ) , sometimes spelled Reinhado , was a major in the military of Timor - Leste , the Timor Leste Defence Force ( F - FDTL ) . He deserted on May 4 , 2006 to join approximately 600 former soldiers who had been sacked in March 2006 after complaining of regional discrimination in promotions , sparking the 2006 East Timor crisis . Reinado was one of the leaders of the rebel soldiers , and the highest - ranking deserter . Military career . Reinado was captured by the Indonesian military ( TNI ) during their invasion of East Timor in 1975 , and served as a porter for TNI in Sulawesi and Kalimantan . He escaped to Australia in 1995 as one of 18 Timorese refugees who fled in a leaky boat and was detained at the Curtin Immigration Detention Centre in Derby , W . A . He later worked in the shipyards in Western Australia . After the referendum in which East Timor voted for independence , Reinado returned to the country to captain a tugboat owned by Rooney ' s Shipping . On the request of the Timorese government , Reinado entered the military of East Timor ( Falintil - FDTL , or simply FDTL ) and was appointed commander of the Naval Unit ( which consists of two patrol vessels donated by the Portuguese Navy ) . However , due to his acerbic style , he was eventually transferred to the Army headquarters in the capital Dili by Brigadier - General Taur Matan Ruak , the commander of the FDTL . Reinado ' s father and sister live in Australia . Over several years , Reinado travelled to Australia to receive military training from the Australian Defence Force , studying defence management in October 2003 and emergency management in August 2004 . In 2005 he completed a three - month navy training module at the Australian Command and Staff College in Canberra . Reinado has also received training from the Portuguese military and the Brazilian military . He was eventually assigned to the military police , where he was in charge of a platoon of 33 troops . Rebellion . On May 4 Reinado and 20 members of his platoon , along with four riot police , deserted their barracks and joined the rebel soldiers in the hills , taking with them two trucks full of weapons and ammunition . In an interview , Reinado said that he was motivated to leave his barracks and join the rebels following an incident on April 28 in which FDTL forces fired upon a crowd of rebel soldiers and unemployed youths demonstrating in the streets of Dili . He asserted that the Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri had given the order to fire into the crowd , because in his role as a military policeman he had escorted Colonel Lere Anan Timor , the chief of staff to FDTL commander Brigadier - General Ruak , to a meeting with Alkatiri , and had heard Lere say immediately after the meeting that " I already have orders to take action . " Reinado also called for a full investigation into the events of April 28 , saying that Alkatiri ' s orders were " an unjustified act under the constitution " . It is alleged that on 23 May 2006 , during negotiations with loyalists from 1st Battalion F - FDTL in the Fatuhai Pass east of Bekora , Reinado shot dead the lead loyalist scout as a patrol approached his position . The following day , Reinado and other Petitioner rebels from the Military Police platoon joined up with the Salsinha Petitioners and rebel Reserve Police , launching a major assault on Dili . Although these assaults were eventually halted by loyalist forces , they came close to cutting the town in half . Indeed " at one stage the fighting closed the Dos Direitos Humanos Avenue . . . at Dili Helo Pad . . . and Petitioners seized the Telecom transmission tower near the then President Xanana Gusmão ' s house . " He was subsequently detained by Portuguese and Australian soldiers in Dili on July 26 on charges of illegally possessing weapons . Angered by his arrest he refused to sign court papers . He was later charged with murder . Escape from prison . On August 30 , 2006 , Reinado escaped from Dili ' s main jail with more than 50 other prisoners . Prison warden Carlos Sarmento said at least 57 inmates fled after breaking down several walls on the east wing . The breakout occurred within the New Zealand Defence Force area of operations and came just a week after the UN was given approval to replace the Australian - led mission responsible for keeping law and order . The escape was by coincidence on the anniversary of the 1999 vote for independence from Indonesia in a referendum . The escape created a new crisis for international security forces in East Timor , which were struggling to curb gang violence . Prime Minister José Ramos - Horta , said after visiting the jail two weeks earlier that security there should be improved . Paulo Remedios , Major Reinado ' s lawyer , said that Major Reinado had been worried for some time about the lack of security at the jail . " Threats have been made against Alfredo and he was taking them seriously , " Mr Remedios said . " He told me of a plan to snatch him from the jail and to take him out of Dili on a boat — that was the rumour that my client heard . " A senior foreign security analyst based in East Timor said Major Reinado , former chief of the country ' s military police , " could easily disappear into the mountains " if not caught quickly . " And the problem is , there are still plenty of guns unaccounted for up in the mountains , " he said . Whilst on the run from authorities , Reinado made an appearance on Indonesia ' s Metro TV talk show " Kick Andy " . On the program , Reinado made open statements about his escape and his aims . Nobody but host Andy F . Noya and his crew knew the location of the interview . Manhunt . Following his escape , Reinado fled to his main support base in Maubisse , in the mountains . Australian soldiers from the SASR and 4 RAR were subsequently involved in an intensive search for the escapees . From his safe base , however , Reinado attempted to negotiate a pardon . As late as December 2006 he was being flown to negotiations by Australian helicopter . Ramos - Horta eventually lost his patience with Reinado ' s public demands and threats , and finally ordered ISF to cease negotiations in January 2007 . Following a large man - hunt he was finally tracked to a mountain compound in Same in late February 2007 . The situation became serious after Reinado ’ s rebels raided a police station west of Maliana on 25 February 2007 and stole radios , automatic assault rifles , pistols and ammunition . Australian and New Zealand forces from ISF , including infantry from 6RAR and 1RNZIR and armour from 3 / 4CAV , were ordered to seal off Same . Negotiations between the Timor Leste government and the rebels subsequently failed and the decision was made to detain Reinado by force . After cornering Reinado in Same , Australian Special Forces entered the town and conducted an assault . Reinado evaded capture but five of his men were killed in the Battle of Same . In mid - April 2007 , Prime Minister José Ramos - Horta said that the search for Reinado was being called off to facilitate dialogue . Reinado met with Ramos - Horta , who was by this time President , in August 2007 , and they backed the initiation of a dialogue that would seek a peaceful resolution . Xanana Gusmão opened talks with the Petitioners considered to be disaffected with Reinado and Salsinha ' s leadership , and a number were eventually convinced to enter cantonment in Dili under the leadership of Major Augusto Tara . In late 2007 Reinado was charged with eight counts of murder and numerous weapons offences relating to the violence in May 2006 . Reinado failed to appear in court to face these charges on 24 January 2008 . The Timor Leste government once again made plans to capture Reinado . According to one source : " with his support base fracturing , Reinado was increasingly isolated and [ began ] planning desperate action . " Death . On February 11 , 2008 , East Timorese army spokesman Major Domingos da Câmara said that Reinado had been killed during coordinated attacks on Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão and President Ramos - Horta . Reinado ' s funeral , attended by hundreds of people , was held peacefully on February 14 in Dili . Alfredo Reinado ' s role as rebel leader was succeeded by Lieutenant Gastão Salsinha . Some hold that Reinado had been shot at " very close range " in the back of the head , leading to speculation that he had been executed instead of shot in defense , despite the fact that the original autopsy report actually said " the manner of death specified is " Homicide " as a result of multiple gunshot wounds , including one inflicted from the front into the neck " and it is Leopoldino Mendonca Exposto , the other rebel who was killed along with Alfred Reinado , that was shot in the back of the head .