Joma Sison was deceived when arrested, says allies; case is punishable by lifetime imprisonment

By Ronron
August 29, 2007

Allies of nabbed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison claimed Wednesday that the latter was deceived by the Dutch police so they could take him into their custody.

Atty. Edre Olalia, legal consultant of the Joint Secretariat of the Joint Monitoring Committee of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) of the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front (NDF), said Sison was actually invited Tuesday morning by Dutch policemen and a Judge to go the police station in Utrecht to get some document, only to detain him later.

“There was deception… Members of the Dutch police, both in uniform and in civilian clothes, accompanied by a Judge, went to the house of Joma Sison to invite him to the police station, purportedly regarding the case he previously filed with regard to assassination attempts against him,” Olalia said in Manila.

But when Sison arrived at the police station some 10 minutes away from his house, his lawyers were suddenly not allowed to go inside with him, and then he was immediately placed under custody, NDF chief peace negotiator with the government Luis Jalandoni said in a radio interview from the Netherlands.

“He was then brought to a police detention near the Hague,” Jalandoni disclosed.

Jalandoni said Sison was told that the reason for his detention is his case of inciting the killing of former communist leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in Quezon City in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

Jalandoni and Olalia said the manner by which Sison was taken by police is “clearly illegal.”

“There was no arrest warrant,” Olalia said, quoting lawyers of Sison in the Netherlands.

He said the police even interrogated Jalandoni and NDF panel member Coni Ledesma shortly after the apprehension of Sison. And their houses, as well as that of Sison and four other NDF staff and the NDF office, were raided simultaneously, carting away computers, laptops, hard copies of several documents, books, address books, diskettes and flash disks.

“”The manner of the raid was described as very brutal. The raids lasted from 11:30 am until 6:30 pm,” Olalia said.

“The Dutch and Belgian lawyers of Mr. Sison view the arrest and interrogation therefore as not only directed to Sison… They call it as politically biased persecution… The line of questioning is not only on the Tabara and Kintanar killing but also on his political activities, the activities of the NDF office, their members and staff, and his political affiliations,” he added.

Olalia said it is impossible for Sison to have ordered the killing of Kintanar and Tabara because he was too far away. “How could you order people when you are several thousand miles away? That’s stupid. And why would you order that? There is no need really because the revolution here in the Philippines is still alive.”

Olalia said they suspect that the “trumped up charges” against Sison is a move by the Philippine and Dutch government, and indirectly by the US government to justify the continued tag on him by the European Union as a terrorist.

“For a person to remain the terror list, there must be a specific charge and there must be an investigation or conviction of the person from any European Union country,” Olalia said.

But while he regard the arrest as illegal and the case as without basis, Olalia admitted that Sison can still be charged because “criminal law” has no international boundary.

Olalia explained that under Dutch law, a person be placed under detention initially for three days while he or she is being subjected to pre-trial investigation. But a judge can extend it to another 15 days, and further to 90 days, if necessary.

With the volume of materials seized by police from Sison’s house and of other NDF members and the NDF office, Olalia fears that the judge may use it as justificiation for a prolonged detention, even beyond the 105-days extension.

Asked if Sison can post bail, the lawyer said: “There is no such thing as bail in the European justice system.”

Sison is expected to attend a hearing before a Judge Commissioner tomorrow (Friday) regarding his case. It will only be during this time that Sison and his lawyers will have the chance to see the complete complaint sheet against him, said Olalia.

Olalia disclosed that if found guilty, Sison could be sentenced to lifetime imprisonment.

Asked if the Philippine government will extend assistance to Sison for this legal battle, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said in a separate interview: “We are studying that, especially us from the National Security Group, because Joma Sison is still a Filipino. So when he asks for help from us, what could be our reply? We are studying that matter.”

It should be noted, however, that the Philippine government has extended help to the Dutch government when it was building up the present case against Sison, as admitted by the Philippine National Police (PNP).

When sought about the condition of Sison, Olalia said he had no idea yet.

But Carol Araullo, chairman of the NDF ally Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), readily said: “Knowing Ka Joma Sison, he certainly is raring for this fight now… We are confident that he will come out on top of this, alive and kicking.”/DMS