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PHILIPPINES: Suspicious death of a man last seen in NBI custody

September 3, 2010

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-127-2010



3 September 2010
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PHILIPPINES: Suspicious death of a man last seen in NBI custody

ISSUES: Death in custody; extrajudicial killings; torture
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STOP extrajudicial killings in the Philippines
http://www.pinoyhr.net/
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that a man, who was last seen alive in custody of a unit of investigators, had been found dead. When his decomposing body was recovered, it was placed inside an oil drum filled with construction cement, his hands were tied behind his back, his teeth had been extracted and his body showed visible traces of torture.

CASE NARRATIVE: (According to information received from Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) - Mindanao)

Sumar K. Abdulwahab was a Muslim and a Maguindanaon (an ethnic tribe). On 3 June, 2010 at 2:30pm, officers from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), a special investigating body, arrested him in Sitio (sub-section of the village) Manil, Barangay Daliao, Maasim town, Sarangani Province on murder charges. The NBI is an agency attached to, and under, the supervision of the Department of Justice (DoJ).

The NBI claimed they had arrest orders for Abdulwahab on charges of murder, which included one count of Murder, Multiple Frustrated Murder and Multiple attempted Murder.

The victim was seen sitting at a post of the Barangay Defense Force (BDF) when the NBI officers, who were onboard four separate vehicles, arrived. They immediately cuffed his hands behind his back after showing him the arrest orders. The person manning the post was then told to take the victim's motorcycle to the office of the village chief.

On 4 June, Abdulwahab's sister, Johaniya, and a council member of their village, had gone to the office of the NBI in Barangay Lagao, General Santos City. The NBI, however, told them that they could only see Abdulwahab the next day. They were also told to bring the personal effects of the victim for him to use when they returned.

When Johaniya and others returned the next day at 3pm the NBI personnel refused them entry to their office and told her that Abdulwahab had escaped the night before at around 11pm to 11:30pm, by breaking the glass window of the detention facility where he was held. After this visit to the NBI, the victim's family had not heard any news regarding his whereabouts.

But on 8 June, five days after he had gone missing, the victim's family heard over the radio of the recovery of a dead body by scavengers in Malalag, Davao del Sur (a place which is a considerable distance from their town). The decomposing body had been placed inside an oil drum filled with construction cement; his hands were tied behind his back and the body showed visible signs of torture. The corpse was found near a cliff after a foul smell had drawn the attention of the scavengers, who then informed the police.

After hearing the report over the radio, the victim's family had immediately gone to the place where the corpse was found. It is common in the Philippines for families of missing persons to check every reported recovery of bodies to see if it was their loved ones. In this case, the family's fears proved true.

When the family arrived at the local funeral parlor where the corpse was taken, they were only able to confirm that the corpse was that of Sumar Abdulwahab by his clothes and a picture of his child in a pocket. In the post mortem report, it found that the victim suffered a 5.2 centimeter wound behind his ear, a skull fracture and contusion in his right check. Also, the victim's teeth had been extracted.


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities below requesting them to conduct a thorough investigation into the victim's death. The NBI should be investigated for violation of legal provisions on the right of the detainees, particularly on free access by families of arrestees. They should also be questioned to determine whether or not they had involvement in the victim's death.

The AHRC has also written letters to the Special Rapporteurs on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions for their intervention.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear_______,

PHILIPPINES: Suspicious death of a man last seen in NBI custody

Name of the victim: Sumar Abdulwahab, 47 years old, married, a resident of Sitio (sub-section of the village) Manil, Barangay Daliao, Maasim town, Sarangani province. He was last seen alive in custody of the NBI before he was found dead five days later.
Arresting officers: Officers from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) stationed in General Santos City
Date of incident: 3 June, 2010 at 2:30pm. He allegedly escaped from the NBI's custody at around 11pm of the same day.
Place of his arrest: Sitio Manil, Barangay Daliao, Maasim town, Sarangani Province
Location where his corpse was found: Malalag, Davao del Sur

I am writing to express my deep concern at the suspicious death of Sumar Abdulwahab, a murder suspect, who was last seen alive in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in General Santos City. The NBI had claimed that before the victim was found dead, he had escaped from their custody by breaking the glass window of their detention facility.

The victim was arrested on 3 June, 2010 at 2:30pm in Maasim town, Sarangani Province. His arrest was due to the murder charges filed against him. He was detained at the NBI's detention facility; however, he allegedly escaped at 11pm to 11:30pm on the same day. The victim's whereabouts had not been known following his alleged escaped until his dead body was found on 8 June.

When the corpse was found by scavengers, it was wrapped in a laminated sack and placed in an oil drum filled with construction cement; his hands were tied behind his back, and his teeth had been extracted. The corpse also showed visible signs of torture. The post mortem report indicated that the victim suffered a 5.2 centimeter wound behind his ear, a skull fracture, contusions to his right check and his teeth had been extracted.

The decomposing corpse was found in Malalag, Davao del Sur--which is several kilometers away from the NBI's detention facility from which the victim had allegedly escaped.

I am deeply concerned about the circumstances that could have lead to the victim's suspicious death. I question the NBI's detention of the murder suspect in their office which I am aware does not fulfill the standards of a detention facility. I do understand that while the NBI, in some places maintain proper detention facilities the one in General Santos City does not qualify as such. I am fully aware that this particular office is basically a residential house which the NBI occupy. The room can in no way qualify as detention cells.

By maintaining these types of de facto detention facilities, there is no assurance of security and safety both of the arrestee and the officers detaining him. In the NBI's report it is claimed that the victim had escaped by breaking the 'cell's' glass window. This raises serious questions regarding the capability of the NBI to ensure the safety of the detainee, their officers and the general public should a violent criminal escape.

Also, I fail to comprehend why the NBI did not take the victim to the nearest police station or a proper detention facility where he could be detained with lesser possibility of escape. Unless the NBI is able to give a rational explanation to all these questions, the suspicions of its possible involvement in the victim's death remain high.

I have learned that when the victim's sister and others visited him at the NBI's office the same day that he had been arrested, the NBI personnel prohibited them from seeing him and told them that they could only visit him the following day. However, when she returned the following day she and her companions were again prohibited from entering the NBI's office. This time due to the excuse that he had allegedly escaped.

The NBI's refusal to allow the victim's sister to visit and have free access to the detainee is a breach of section 4 (b, 11) of the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 (RA 9745) and Section 4 (b) the Rights of Person Arrested, Detained or under custodial investigation (RA 7438). The NBI should also be held to account for failing to ensure the safety and security of the arrestee while he was in their custody. I therefore urge that the NBI officers should be investigated to determine these breaches of the above acts.

The circumstances surrounding the victim's death after he had gone missing for days should likewise be thoroughly investigated. It should also be looked into as to whether or not the NBI officers might have had any involvement in his death. The officers must be suspended so that they cannot interfere with the investigation in order to ensure its credibility and impartiality.

I trust that you will take action on this case.


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Benigno Aquino III
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80

2. The Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: mtm_rodulfo@yahoo.com

3. Deputy Director General Jesus A. Verzosa
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2724 8763
Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
E-mail: ruth_cossid@yahoo.com

4. Mrs. Leila de Lima
Secretary
Department of Justice (DOJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: soj@doj.gov.ph

5. Mr. Emilio Gonzalez
Deputy Ombudsman
Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military
and Other Law Enforcement Offices
3rd Floor, Ombudsman Bldg., Agham Road, Diliman
1104 Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 926 8747
Tel: +63 2 926 9032

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-127-2010
Countries :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.