A screen grab from a YouTube video shows political prisoners Adelberto Silva and his wife Sharon Cabusao while being interviewed at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group detention center. (pinoyweekly.org/YouTube)
Two political prisoners were released Wednesday after the regional trial court in Bacoor, Cavite threw out the charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives filed against them and one other, the human rights organization Karapatan said.
Karapatan said Bacoor RTC Branch 19 granted the motion to dismiss of Sharon Cabusao, Isidro de Lima and Adelberto Silva, describing the search and seizure on them as “unreasonable” and the evidence purportedly found on them the “proverbial fruit of the poisonous tree.”
Silva, who the military claimed was the secretary general of the Communist Party of the Philippines at the time of his arrest, his wife Cabusao, and De Lima were captured in Bacoor June 1 last year. Three rifle grenades, subversive documents, components for making improvised bombs and electronic devices were allegedly seized from them.
However, Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said Silva remains detained at the Special Intensive Care Unit-1 of Camp Bagong Diwa, from where De Lima was released, because he still has pending murder, attempted murder and frustrated murder charges.
Cabusao was released from the Taguig City jail, Palabay added.
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines, which represents communist rebels in negotiations with the government, has been demanding the release of Silva, who it said is a consultant of its peace panel, like 18 other alleged rebel leaders in detention.
Karapatan said the dismissal of the case against the three detainees by the Bacoor court is the latest in which judges deemed the charges and evidence “fabricated” and the accused’s right to due process violated through illegal searches and seizures.
“Many other political prisoners face the same trumped-up criminal charges,” Karapatan said, citing the case of former University of the Philippines students Gerald Salonga and Guiller Cadano, who the group said “were illegally arrested, tortured and are still detained in Nueva Ecija” while facing illegal possession of firearms and explosives charges based on “sacks containing guns and explosives (that) were planted in the house where the two were staying while conducting research on the plight of the farmers in Carranglan.”
It also cited the case of alleged CPP leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, who were arrested with five others in Cebu in 2014 and also charged with illegal firearms possession “when they only had their personal belongings and pet cats and dogs in their vehicles.”
Karapatan said there are 509 political prisoners in the country, “at least 297” of them “illegally arrested” during the term of President Benigno Aquino III.
http://interaksyon.com/article/129090/2-political-prisoners-released-after-cavite-court-throws-out-charges---karapatan
KARAPATAN (Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights) is the main Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) umbrella human rights organization in the Philippines. The group has chapters active throughout the Philippines.
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