Amnesty International: End Acosta’s detention without trial

Philippines: End Acosta’s detention without trial

The Philippine authorities must release Edison (sic) Acosta or else promptly bring him to trial.
Amnesty International expressed concern that the 37-year-old activist and journalist has been held in detention without trial for six months now.

On 13 February, Acosta was arrested by the military in San Jose, Samar. The military alleged he was an official of the once-banned Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

Acosta said he was detained at a military camp and subjected to 44 hours of interrogation with only two hours of sleep. He also said that interrogators threatened to kill him.

Death threats and prolonged sleep deprivation for the purpose of interrogation violate the international prohibition against torture and other ill-treatment. These practices violate the Convention against Torture, which the Philippines has ratified.

On 16 February, the charge of illegal possession of explosives was filed against Acosta at the Regional Trial Court Branch 41 in Gandara, Western Samar. Under Philippine law, this is a non-bailable offence.

Six months later, Acosta remains in custody pending action by the investigating prosecutor. Under article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Philippines is party, anyone subject to arrest or detention is “entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release.”

In Philippine law, the time limit from an arraignment to trial is set at 180 days by the Speedy Trial Act (RA 8493). However, 180 days have already passed without Acosta being arraigned, since the prosecutor has yet to file a formal complaint to the court.

Under international human rights law, confessions obtained by torture or other ill-treatment are inadmissible in court. The Philippine authorities must investigate these allegations and hold the perpetrators accountable.


Link to Amnesty International's statement

Free All Political Prisoners!

Join the Campaign to Free All Political Prisoners in the Philippines

through General, Unconditional and Omnibus Amnesty

Today there is an ongoing, protracted armed conflict in the Philippines with deep socio-economic and political roots. There is also much social discontent and political dissent that have been met with fascist repression by all governments since the U.S. granted the country its bogus independence. Thus trumped-up charges, illegal arrests and detention, torture and unjust conviction on false political and/or criminal charges constitute continuing and blatant violation of the people’s rights.

Political prisoners are those who are arrested, detained and imprisoned for acts in furtherance of their political beliefs. As a consequence, they are arbitrarily denied their liberty and due process of law.

They may be charged with political offenses such as rebellion, sedition and variations thereof.

But more often than not they are charged with criminal offenses in an effort to deny the political nature of their alleged offenses and to stigmatize them as plain criminals guilty of the most heinous crimes. Political prisoners are slapped with murder, multiple murder, frustrated murder, arson, kidnapping, robbery in band, illegal possession of firearms and others. These are all non-bailable offenses meant to keep the PPs incarcerated while court hearings proceeded at snail’s pace.

There are a total of 354 political prisoners (PPs) reported as of end June 2011. Majority were arrested under the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, they being among the most determined in opposing the corrupt, repressive and puppet Arroyo regime. There are 27 who were arrested before Arroyo’s time and 47 under Benigno Aquino III.

Political prisoners, their families, people’s organizations, human rights organizations, lawyers’ groups, legislators, as well as international human rights networks persist in their efforts to rectify the injustice against political prisoners and other victims of human rights violations. They demand freedom for all political prisoners.

We call on President Noynoy Aquino to declare a general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty for all political prisoners.

General means all political prisoners, or what the government refers to as alleged political offenders, covered by the effectivity of an Amnesty Proclamation, whether they are charged with political or criminal offenses.

Unconditional means no precondition is set before they can be released. They will not have to go through a tedious application process and will not be required to plead guilty or make any admissions. They only need to be covered by the definition and effectivity of the Proclamation. The operative act needed to effect their immediate release is their inclusion in a pre-screened list and acceptance of the General, Unconditional and Omnibus Amnesty Proclamation.

Omnibus means that all charges or offenses as defined in the Proclamation are covered by the amnesty.

Sign the online petition here and here.