August 27
INDONESIA:
Death sentence sought for smuggler
Prosecutors demanded on Thursday that Tangerang District Court sentence
Daniel Enemou -- a 28-year-old Nigerian citizen -- to death, and fine him
Rp 50 million (US$5,435) for smuggling 1,150 grams of heroin into the
country from Pakistan in January.
Prosecutor Eben Silalahi said the defendant was proven guilty of violating
Articles 82 and 78 of Law No. 22/1997 on drugs, as he had carried the
heroin through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Jan. 4. The
articles carry a maximum sentence of death.
Enemou was arrested at the airport's terminal II by plain-clothes police
officers.
The officers had found no evidence on Enemou's personage, but an X ray
taken later at Honoris Hospital revealed foreign objects inside his
stomach.
Enemou was forced to swallow laxatives to recover the evidence -- 65
capsules containing heroin, which appeared 2 days later.
Presiding judge Maha Nikmah adjourned the trial until next Wednesday to
hear the defense plea.
(source: Jakarta Post)
PHILIPPINES:
PRESS RELEASE----August 25, 2004
Human Rights Groups Cry Justice for Slain Davao Human Rights Defender
A human rights defender, Rashid Manahan, was killed in broad daylight
yesterday infront of Ponce Suites, Bajada, Davao City. Manahan was with
Prof. Nymia Simbulan, Executive Director of Philrights and Ms. Martha
Alvarez, a representative of the European Union. The 3 were to attend a
forum against the death penalty and salvaging at UP Mindanao.
"We condemn the killing of Rashid Manahan, the coordinator of Mamamayang
Tutol sa Bitay (MTB-Davao). The killers must be brought to justice, " said
Dr. Aurora A. Parong, Executive Director of Task Force Detainees of the
Philippines (TFDP) and member of the Board of Philrights.
Some quarters point to the Davao Death Squad as the perpetrator of the
killing.
In the book "State Violence in the Philippines, An Alternative Report
submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee", the Davao Death
Squad had been linked to more than a hundred unsolved vigilante killings
of suspected criminals or drug pushers in Davao since mid 1990s. Fr. Shay
Cullen of PREDA said that some of the victims of salvaging in Davao were
children.
Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) also reported to the United
Nations Human Rights Committee the killing of several human rights
defenders, one of the most known has been the killing of human rights
defender Eden Marcellana in Mindoro.
The UN Human Rights Committee in its Concluding Observations during the
79th Session on the Philippines in October 2003 asked the Philippine
government to "provide information on the cases of Eden Marcellana and
Eddie Gumanoy and the execution of 11 persons on Commonwealth Avenue,
Manila in 1995." To date, the killers of Marcellana have not been brought
to justice and the Kuratong Baleleng case has not been resolved.
The book " State Violence in the Philippines" also contained reports of
Ms. Marlea Munez of WEDPRO about violence against women including
trafficking in women. The book to be launched this week by the United
Against Torture Coalition (UATC) at Sulo Hotel was authored by PREDA,
WEDPRO, TFDP and OMCT, a Geneva Based international human rights
organization.
"Journalists and human rights defenders are at high risk. The killings
continue and the perpetrators are scot-free. President Arroyo has to take
decisive actions to get the murderers", said Dr. Parong.
Patrick Mutzenberg of OMCT said that the UN Committee recommendations must
be seriously looked into by the Philippine government.
TFDP also documented 2,096 victims of human rights violations from January
to June 2004 - 12 killed, 310 illegally arrested and detained, 21
tortured, 601 victims of violent dispersal of rallies, 512 victims of
harassment.
(source: PREDA)
