A former pro-Indonesian militia member has received a 16-year sentence from the Special Panel for Serious Crimes in Dili.

Augusto Asameta Tavares was a member of the Halilintar (thunder) militia group, operating in the Maliana district southwest of Dili, and was convicted of murdering a pro-independence supporter in the village of Memo on August 27, during the wave of violence that swept over the half-island at the time of the August 30,1999 independence referendum.

Tavares was sentenced Friday and is the eleventh person convicted by the Special Panel for Serious Crimes.