Roger East

Roger East (7 February 19228 December 1975) was an Australian journalist who was murdered by the Indonesian military during its invasion of East Timor in 1975. 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. His career had included several stints with Australian Broadcasting Corporation in news reporting, radio, and television, as well as other jobs around the world.

Early life and education Roger East was born in , in western Sydney on 7 February 1922, but raised at Eumungerie, near Dubbo, in country New South Wales. He had two older brothers, Bill and Alan, and a younger sister, Glenise. East was a child of the Depression and his teenage years in the 1930s were difficult ones. spending most of his war service as a signalman on HMAS Burnie, a corvette, during the fall of Singapore and subsequent escort duties.

Career After the war, East entered journalism. Working at first in regional New South Wales newspapers, in the 1950s he left Australia to cover foreign events in places as varied as Cyprus, China, and the Suez Crisis.

East was captured by the Indonesian military before he could get away. Eyewitnesses later reported that East was brought, along with many other prisoners, to the Dili waterfront, where he and scores of others were then executed by firing squad on 8 December 1975.

Following an inquest into the murder of the Balibo Five, there were calls for a similar inquest into the murder of East.

In popular culture In Timothy Mo's novel The Redundancy of Courage, the character Bill Mabbely is based upon Roger East.

Anthony LaPaglia starred as East in the 2009 Australian feature film Balibo, which tells the story of the Balibo Five. The film was co-written by David Williamson and Robert Connolly and was based upon Cover-Up, a book by Jolliffe, as well as the work of Clinton Fernandes, who served as the film's historical consultant.