Roger East (journalist)

Roger East
Roger East in an undated photograph
Born(1922-02-07)7 February 1922
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died8 December 1975(1975-12-08) (aged 53)
Dili, East Timor
Cause of deathExecution by shooting
NationalityAustralian
OccupationJournalist
Years active1940s–1975
Known forBeing murdered during the Indonesian invasion of East Timor
Notable workABC Television, Visnews, Australian Associated Press, Radio 2

Roger East (7 February 1922 – 8 December 1975) was an Australian journalist who was murdered by the Indonesian military during its invasion of East Timor in 1975.[1][2]

East was a freelance journalist who worked for the Australian Associated Press (AAP). He travelled to Portuguese Timor (now known as East Timor) in October 1975, following the story of the Balibo Five, who had been killed by Indonesian soldiers just weeks before. East was captured by the Indonesian armed forces and was brought, along with many other prisoners, to the Dili waterfront where he and scores of others were then executed by firing squad.[1][2]

Previously, he had worked as a publicity officer for the Australian Country Party in Queensland and had been working in Darwin as a press officer for the Darwin Reconstruction Commission (which was created after the devastation of Darwin by Cyclone Tracy in December 1974).

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference memorial was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference justice was invoked but never defined (see the help page).