Dream Trip Around the World Becomes a Nightmare for an American Tourist in East Timor · Global Voices
Manuel Ribeiro

Stacey Addison detained in East Timor. Photo: Facebook. Reproduced with permission.
Stacey Addison is from Portland, USA where she worked as a veterinarian for ten years. About 20 months ago, 41 year-old Stacey decided to sell all of her belongings and leave for a round-the-world adventure.
What was meant to be a dream trip that began in January 2013, is now turning into a nightmare. Stacey Addison crossed the border from Indonesia to East Timor, in a shared taxi, in September 2014. Upon arrival in Dili, one of the occupants of the taxi asked to stop at a DHL postal office to collect a parcel. The packet contained drugs. At that moment, the nightmare of the tourist who finds themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time begins. She asks on a Facebook page, created by her mother, Bernadette Kero, and friends, for support.
After the first detention [Tetum], being searched and spending 4 nights in a prison in Dili, Stacey was freed but forbidden from leaving the country. Her passport was confiscated and the case referred to the Public Prosecutor for investigation.
Wrong place wrong time for poor Stacey Addison who jumped in a #taxi & landed in jail #HelpStacey http://t.co/w4hf5B6ka4
— CabFare (@CabFare) November 12, 2014
On October 27, the investigation was interrupted. The prosecutor charged with the case was dismissed, caught up in the recent events which are shaking the legal system in East Timor [pt].
On October 29, the vet was detained again but this time transferred to the women's prison in Gleno, a few hours from Dili. The American tourist found an arrest warrant in her name waiting for her. She says that she was never formally accused or interrogated by the Public Prosecutor.
Women's prison in Gleno, East Timor. Photo: Facebook
Her lawyer, Paulo Remédios, declared to the North American press that Addison's detention violates international human rights law.
The North American embassy in Dili, which currently has no ambassador, has told the press that it cannot intervene in the country's legal system. However, the American government is under pressure to intervene in the process and also to appoint a new ambassador to East Timor. An Embassy source confirmed to Global Voices that “the United States of America are represented in East Timor by the foreign affairs attaché, Katherine Dueholm, while we await the final appointment of an ambassador”.
A wave of solidarity initiated by Stacey's friends and family has begun to take shape on Twitter:
#HelpStacey https://t.co/GBF4M8EQ4C My friend's friend, Stacey is trapped in East Timor after getting in a cab with a stranger…Help her.
— Kristin (@krocks) September 28, 2014
@StateDept – what are you doing to help free Dr. Stacey Addison in East Timor? #helpstacey As a traveler, I would want to know you will help — Reyna Shine Empower (@dthequeen50) November 8, 2014
Veterinarian Stacy Addison has been wrongfully imprisoned in Timor Leste. http://t.co/Rea3NULSkQ @EleanorNorton & Karen Stanton #helpstacey — Chris Miller DVM (@dcvet) November 10, 2014
Dr Stacey Addison spends birthday in Indonesian jail after drug sting nightmare http://t.co/rqadHkjF16 via @MailOnline. #helpstacey
— Jamie Arzuagas (@JArzuagas) November 8, 2014
http://t.co/b6fJJVzhpZ #helpstacey Let's see if the govt will do its job now and help her. Title 22, paragraph 1732 U.S. Code
— Faye Higbee (@HigbeeDFaye) November 5, 2014