Prof. Jose Maria Sison has just been released, Sept. 13, 8:30 PM Manila time. Judges say evidence insufficient.
DECISION: The Court rejects the demand of the Public Prosecutor and recommends termination of the accused's remand in custody From the Website of the Dutch Ministry of Justice
http://zoeken.rechtspraak.nl/resultpage.aspx?snelzoeken=true&searchtype…
http://www.arkibongbayan.org
http://www.zumel.com
Uitspraak
DISTRICT COURT OF THE HAGUE
CRIMINAL LAW SECTION
Public Prosecutor's Office number: 09.750006-06
On 7 September 2007, the Public Prosecutor submitted a demand aiming at an order to be issued for detention of:
[the accused]
born in [place of birth] on [date of birth]
currently held in the remand prison in The Hague (Unit 1).
The Court has examined the documents in this case.
On 7 September 2007, the accused and his counsel, as well as the Public Prosecutor were heard in camera.
The accused was remanded in custody on the charges of participation of, alternatively incitement to the intentional and premeditated murders of [R.K.] on 23 January 2003 (count 1), [A.G.T.] and/or [S.A.O.] on 26 September 2004 (count 3) as well as the attempts to do so of [R.M.] and/or [E.R. y M.] on 23 January 2003 (count 2).
The Public Prosecution Service takes the point of view that prior to, and at the time of, the commission of these serious offences, the accused was the chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the Central Committee (CC), being a party body within the CPP, as well as that within the party structure, the CC takes the decisions and that the accused, being the chairman of both the CPP and the CC, for that reason may be held criminally responsible for the offences.
With regard to the question to be answered primarily, to wit if there are grave presumptions as provided for in article 67, third paragraph of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Court considers the following.
It is certain that the acts concerned were committed in the Philippines. In the opinion of the Court, it is clear from the investigation that the said acts related to disagreements within the CPP and that the decision to
commit these offences was made within the party structure of the CPP, in which other persons and bodies were also involved. The question that will have to be answered is if, and if so, in what way, the accused was involved and may be considered as a co-perpetrator of these acts.
In order to assume participation in the commission of acts within the meaning of article 47 of the Penal Code, there should be deliberate and close co-operation and a joint commission of the offence.
The police files submitted to the court include many indications for the point of view that the accused has been involved in the CC of the CPP and her military branch, the New People's Army (NPA). There are also indications that the accused is still playing a leading role in the (underground) activities of the CC, the CPP and the NPA.
Without prejudice to the justified suspicion that the accused during the period described in the charges played a leading role in the aforementioned organisations, the files nevertheless do not provide a sufficient basis for the suspicion that the accused, while staying in the Netherlands, committed the offences he is charged with in deliberate and close co-operation with the perpetrators in the Philippines.
For that reason, the Court considers that the grave presumptions with regard to participation in the commission of the murders are not present. Neither can indications be found for the presence of grave presumptions with regard to incitement to these offences. The statements of the widows and the marksmen, to which the Public Prosecution Service appeals, only refer to the fact that they assume that the murders have been committed by order of the CC of the CPP and therefore an order originating from the accused being the chairman. However, that is insufficiently concrete to consider that grave presumptions are present.
The grounds that have led to the remand in custody of the accused are not, in any case no longer, present in the opinion of the Court, so that the demand should be rejected and the remand in custody should be terminated with immediate effect.
DECISION :
The Court rejects the demand of the Public Prosecutor and recommends termination of the accused's remand in custody.
MESSRS. POUSTOCHKINE LL.M., president, SCHAAF LL.M. and STEENHUIS LL.M., judges in the presence of MS KOK LL.M., clerk of the court, pronounced this decision in camera in this Court on 13 September 2007.
>From the website of the Dutch justice ministry:
http://zoeken.rechtspraak.nl/resultpage.aspx?snelzoeken=true&searchtype…
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Eng/Dt) FREE PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON ! Statement of the Caravan for the rights of refugees and migrants
Karawane für die Rechte der Flüchtlinge und MigrantInnen
Sektion Nord / Koordinationskreis Hamburg
Tel: 0049-(0)40-43 18 90 37, Fax: 0049-(0)40-43 18 90 38
c/o Brigittenstraße 5, 20359 Hamburg
Mail: free2move@nadir.org /www.thecaravan.org
http://www.freejomapetition.org
*Campaign Website: http://www.defendsison.be
*General Information: * http://www.bulatlat.com
Immediate Release of Jose Maria Sison
We denounce the arrest by the Dutch authorities of Jose Maria Sison, the temporary political advisor of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). We denounce both the attack on Prof. Sison and others affiliated with the NDFP as well as the robbery of computers and office materials. The Dutch state is openly participating in the oppression of the anti-colonial and democratic struggle of the Filipino people.
The persecution and defamation of the NDFP and the Communist Party of the Philippines (CCP) have the historical background that the United States has seen itself as the ruler of the island state since the U.S. replaced the Spanish Colonizers. U.S. dominance was interrupted only during the period of Japanese fascist occupation. Changing U.S. governments have helped bring repressive governments into power, while the rural and urban population has made great sacrifices to throw such presidents out of power. The current government under President Macapagal Arroyo is under extreme pressure and the U.S. government has assured its loyal subjects its unlimited support in the fight against the democratic opposition.
The is the background in which the New People’s Army (NPA), the CCP, and CCP cofounder Jose Maria Sison were placed on the European so-called terror list. After years of imprisonment during the Marcos Dictatorship, Professor Sison has now lived in the Netherlands as a recognized refugee for over 20 years.
Just two months ago the European Court in Luxembourg decided in the first instance that the listing of Prof. Sison on the so-called terror list is illegal.
We protest against the politically motivated persecution of Professor Sison and the NDFP and demand his immediate release, an official apology, and the return of the confiscated objects!
We demand the end to the lies about the Filipino national democratic liberation movement and the open mass organizations. We demand the en of the support of the Arroyo Regime, under which more members of grassroots organizations have been murdered than under the Marcos Dictatorship!
We demand the end to the U.S. Military intervention in the Philippines!
We call for the solidarity of all progressive, democratic forces with Professor Sison and the NDFP!
http://www.freejomapetition.org
*Campaign Website: http://www.defendsison.be
*General Information: *_** http://www.bulatlat.com
Caravan for the rights of refugees and migrants Germany,
August 31, 2007
***
Deutsch:
Karawane für die Rechte der Flüchtlinge und MigrantInnen
Sektion Nord / Koordinationskreis Hamburg
Tel: 0049-(0)40-43 18 90 37, Fax: 0049-(0)40-43 18 90 38
c/o Brigittenstraße 5, 20359 Hamburg
Mail: free2move@nadir.org /www.thecaravan.org
http://www.freejomapetition.org
*Kampagnenseite: http://www.defendsison.be
*Allg. Informationen unter:: * http://www.bulatlat.com
Sofortige Freilassung von Jose Maria Sison!
Wir verurteilen die Festnahme des zeitweiligen politischen Beraters der Nationalen Demokratischen Front der Philippinen (NDFP), Jose Maria Sison durch die niederländischen Behörden. Wir verurteilen den Angriff auf Professor Sison sowie die Überfälle auf weitere Personen, die der NDFP nahe stehen und den Raub von Computern und anderem Arbeitsmaterial. Der niederländische Staat beteiligt sich offen an der Unterdrückung des antikolonialen und demokratischen Kampfes des philippinischen Volks.
Die Verfolgung und Diffamierung der NDFP und der Kommunistischen Partei Philippinen (CCP) haben den Hintergrund, daß die USA seit der Ablösung der spanischen Kolonialherrschaft unterbrochen durch die Besatzung durch die japanischen Faschisten sich als Herrscher über den Inselstaat sehen. Die wechselnden US-Regierungen haben jede volksfeindliche Regierung in den Sattel gehievt, während die verarmte Land- und Stadtbevölkerung unter hohen Opfern zahlreiche Präsidenten aus dem Amt gejagt. Die derzeitig amtierende Regierung unter Präsidentin Macapagal Arroyo steht stark unter Druck und die US-Regierung hat ihrem treuen Vassalen im Kampf gegen die demokratische Opposition uneingeschränkte Unterstützung zugesichert.
Dies ist der Hintergrund vor dem die NPA (New Peoples Army), die CCP und ihr Mitbegründer Jose Maria Sison auf die europäische sogenannte Terrorliste gesetzt wurden. Professor Sison lebt nach langer Haft unter der Diktatur Marcos nun seit über 20 Jahren in den Niederlanden anerkannt nach internationalen Gesetzen als politischer Flüchtling.
Gerade vor zwei Monate hat die erste Instanz des europäischen Gerichts in Luxemburg die Auflistung Professor Sisons in der sogenannten Terrorliste als gesetzwidrig verurteilt.
Wir protestieren gegen die politisch motivierte Verfolgung von Professor Sison und der NDFP und fordern die sofortige Freilassung, eine offizielle Entschuldigung und die Rückgabe der beschlagnahmten Gegenstände!
Wir fordern die Beendigung der Lügen über die philippinische nationale demokratische Befreiungsbewegung und der offenen Massenorganisationen. Wir fordern die Beendigung der Unterstützung des Regimes unter Präsidentin Arroyo, unter dem mehr politische Morde an Mitgliedern der demokratischen Basisorganisationen begangen wurden als unter der Marcos Diktatur!
Wir fordern die Beendigung der US Militärintervention auf den Philippinen!
Wir rufen alle progressiven, demokratischen Kräfte zur Solidarität mit Professor Sison und der NDFP auf!
http://www.freejomapetition.org
*Kampagnenseite: http://www.defendsison.be
*Allg. Informationen unter:: *_** http://www.bulatlat.com
Caravan for the rights of refugees and migrants in Germany,
31st August 2007
*******************************************************
FREE PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON !
http://www.freejomapetition.org
http://www.defendsison.be
Deutsch: Sofortige Freilassung von Jose Maria Sison! http://thecaravan.org/node/1331
https://thevoiceforum.org/node/571
The Poem of Joma Sison http://www.defendsison.be/index.php?menu=1
FREE PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON !
Sign the online petition and send emails to Dutch, Filipino, U.N. and U.S. officials and members of the media!
Joma Sison Questions & Answers Fact Sheet
What you can do to demand the release of beloved Philippine leader falsely arrested and in detention
On August 28, 2007 Professor Jose Maria Sison, a Filipino political refugee living in exile for 20 years in Utrecht, Netherlands, was lured by Dutch police under false pretenses, arrested and unjustly detained. As the chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), Professor Sison has been an instrumental force in pursuing peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the Philippine underground movement. Sison was a political prisoner under the Marcos dictatorship and has since been exiled and suffers continuous harassment and persecution by the Philippine Government.
At the age of 68, Professor Sison is one of the most influential figures in Philippine politics, highly regarded by millions of Filipino workers, peasants, women, students, national minorities, and other segments of Philippine society seeking national sovereignty and genuine democracy for their homeland.
Internationally, he is a renowned writer and poet and a highly respected anti-imperialist intellectual providing incisive analysis on the crisis of the world capitalist system. He is currently the chairperson of the International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS), an alliance of over 100 peoples organizations from over 20 countries in the world advancing national independence, democracy and social liberation.
At the same time as his arrest, the Dutch police, in Gestapo-like fashion, raided the homes and seized the property of 7 other NDF personnel, This bolsters our belief that Prof. Sison is not the only target of the attacks. The entire NDFP Peace Panel based in the Netherlands are also being subjected to harassment and repression.
According to Netherlands authorities, Sison is being charged with incitement to murder in the Philippines. Dutch prosecutors allege that he ordered the killings of Filipinos Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara. This is only the latest in the long list of politically-motivated false charges being levied against Sison. Recently, the Philippine Supreme Court dismissed the rebellion charges against Sison and 50 other personalities including progressive members of the Philippine Congress and leaders of the mass movement. The court ruled that the pieces of alleged evidence used in the rebellion cases, including the Kintanar and Tabara deaths, can no longer be used in other legal proceedings against Sison and his co-accused.
The attacks on Sison are part of the continuing political repression being implemented by the US-backed Arroyo regime. In the past, this has included extrajudicial kilings, abductions and the filing of false charges against activists and critics of the Arroyo regime.
As Sison is one of the sharpest critics of US imperialism and Philippine President Arroyo's puppetry to the Bush regime, the Bush-Arroyo clique have worked hand and hand to criminalize him, even going as far as placing him on the U.S. list of Foreign Terrorists. Just last month, the Court of First Instance of the European Court of Justice nullified the Council of the European Union’s inclusion of Sison on their "Terrorist List" and they found no basis or due process for the original listing.
The solitary confinement and treatment of Sison, not allowing visitors such as his wife, children, or his doctor to see him, while in detention violates provisions of the United Nations High Comission on the Rights of Refugees. Sison is a recognized political refugee in the Netherlands.
We again call on all truth and freedom seeking people to help defend Professor Sison's rights and demand that the Netherlands authorities release him at once.
Sign the online petiton and send emails to public officials
CALL, FAX, MAIL, AND/OR VISIT ACCOUNTABLE BODIES IN THE NETHERLANDS, PHILIPPINES, UNITED STATES, & UNITED NATIONS TO DEMAND IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL JUSTICE NOW!
(Phone numbers, fax numbers, emails and addresses of officials are listed at freejomapetiton.org/freejomapetition.html along with the text of the petition, which can also be used as a script for call-ups or visits to officials. The text can also be printed as a petition and names gathered in support.)
FREE JOMA SISON!
DROP ALL THE FALSE CHARGES!
STOP THE POLITICAL PERSECUTION OF FILIPINO PROGRESSIVES!
FreeJomaPetition.org
Solidarity Center - 5C
55 West 17th St
New York, NY 10011
For further information call: (212) 633-6646
FreeJomaNow@gmail.com
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On the Unjust Arrest, Continuing Detention and Torture
of Prof. Jose Maria Sison
A Case of Dutch Imperialist Intervention and Repression and an
Affront to the Right of the Filipino People to Self-Determination
International League of Peoples’ Struggle - Hong Kong
1 September 2007
On the morning of August 28, Filipino political refugee Prof. Jose Maria Sison was unjustly arrested by the Dutch Police on trumped-up charges. Simultaneously, raids and ransackings were conducted on several houses of Filipinos in the Netherlands including the NDF International Information Office.
Immediately, freedom and peace-loving peoples of the world condemned in the harshest manner this grave violation of the rights of Prof. Sison and other Filipino progressives in the Netherlands.
Currently, Prof. Sison is languishing in solitary confinement and is suffering torture by the Dutch government.
This incident is a clear manifestation of Dutch imperialist intervention and repression as well as an affront to the right of the Filipino people to self-determination.
Why do we say that the charges are trumped up?
The Dutch police and prosecutors have fabricated charges against Prof. Sison of ordering the alleged murder of Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara from the Netherlands. On the bases of these false charges, Prof. Sison was arrested in an entrapment operation and the raids of the offices and residences of other Filipinos in the Netherlands carried out.
However, the so-called charges are obviously trumped up:
(a) The charges are already included in a case that has been nullified and dismissed with finality by the Philippine Supreme Court in its decision last July 2, 2007. Together with 50 others, Prof. Sison has been exonerated and the case has been shown to be completely without basis and politically motivated.
(b) The specific charges have currently no corresponding cases in any Philippine court.
Assuming that such charges are filed in Philippine courts, these would have to fall under the political offense of rebellion and not as a criminal offense which the Dutch authorities claim these to be.
Under what right and authority therefore does the Dutch government seek to intervene in the internal affairs of the Filipino people by prosecuting Prof. Jose Maria Sison? How can they utterly disregard Philippine Supreme Court decisions and choose to fabricate an offense where there is no corresponding criminal case in Philippine courts?
Why do we say that the charges are politically-motivated?
The US-Arroyo regime, through its National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, Philippine National Police Deputy Director General Avelino Razon, and Secretary of the Department of Justice Raul Gonzales, has admitted that they have been helping the Dutch police since January this year in building the case against Prof. Sison. They have even admitted providing airfare and travel allowances to the accusers.
(a) This contradicts and belies the statement of the spokesperson of the Dutch Prosecutors’ Office, Wim de Bruin, that the filing of the case is exclusively a Dutch initiative.
(b) This clearly shows the conspiracy between the Dutch and Philippine governments to politically persecute Prof. Sison.
(c) The US government, the main author in the terrorist labeling of Prof. Sison and the revolutionary movement and number one supporter of the criminal and murderous Arroyo government, immediately volunteered to assist in the investigation and prosecution of Prof. Sison.
(d) This exposes their political agenda of attempting to pressure the National Democratic Front of the Philippines to capitulate to the Arroyo government across the negotiating table.
What are the economic interests of The Netherlands that prompted it to side with the US-Arroyo regime – the promoter of repression and state terrorism in the Philippines?
In exchange for allowing the Dutch government and multinational corporations the unhampered plunder of Philippine national resources, the US-Arroyo regime has managed to secure a deal with the Dutch authorities to persecute Prof. Sison.
(a) The Netherlands is the third largest trading partner and the second largest foreign investor in the country.
(b) The Netherlands maintains significant business interests in the Philippines in strategic industries including:
•oil industry (Royal Dutch Shell),
•petroleum trading, oil and gas exploration (Vitol Group),
•consumer product brands in foods, beverages and personal care products (Unilever),
•banking (ABN-AMRO),
•insurance (AXA-Life),
•coco coir export (Rinos B.V-Corion),
•consumer electronics (Phillips),
•retail industry (Makro),
•solar energy (Shell Solar Philippines, Inc) among others
(c) The US-Arroyo regime has virtually turned over the gas reserves of Malampaya and the indigenous peoples’ ancestral lands into agricultural plantations to serve Dutch multinational corporations. Earlier this month Premier Oil was granted the right to drill an exploration well in the Ragay Gulf in the Bicol region. Premier has earmarked between $3.6 million and $9.6 million to drill its first exploration well by July-September 2007.
Why do we say that the case of Prof. Sison is a case of Dutch imperialist intervention?
With the case of Prof. Sison, the Dutch authorities arrogantly impose their own judicial system and jurisprudence over that of the Philippines. They completely disregard Philippine Supreme Court decisions and the fact that there are no cases in any Philippine court against Prof. Sison for the deaths of Kintanar and Tabara. The political persecution of Prof. Sison by the Dutch government is an arrogant display of superiority over the Philippine judicial system and jurisprudence.
This infringes on Philippine sovereignty and clearly meddles with the internal affairs of the Philippines. The arrest, continued detention and torture of Prof. Sison, the chief political consultant of the NDFP Negotiating Panel, has also effectively terminated the peace negotiations between the NDFP and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines.
The Dutch government is reliving its colonial past when it decided to meddle in Philippine affairs with the political persecution of Prof. Sison. This the Dutch government does to protect and advance their economic interests in the Philippines.
This is reminiscent of the era of Dutch colonialism when the Dutch East Indies Company expanded its hegemony in Asia, especially Indonesia, and Latin America (Suriname and the Dutch Antilles).
In its interventionist actions, the Dutch government is violating the right of the Filipino people to self-determination.
It is hypocritical for the Dutch government to attack the historical and inherent right of peoples, particularly the Filipino people, to struggle against an illegitimate, corrupt, brutal and tyrannical regime and to determine their own economic, social, political and cultural development free from any foreign control and interference.
We would beg to ask where the House of Orange (The Netherlands) would be if the Dutch people had not asserted the same right to rebel against Spanish colonial rule? Where would The Netherlands be if the Dutch people did not forcefully remove by armed struggle the yoke of Spanish rule?
The hypocrisy of the Dutch government towards human rights and the rights of peoples betrays the current interventionist policies of this imperialist state.
Why do we say that the unjust arrest of Prof. Sison and the ransacking of the residences and offices of Filipino progressives in the Netherlands is a clear case of repression?
Instead of dragging the Arroyo government into court for its war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Dutch authorities chose to persecute Prof. Sison, a patriot and exceptional freedom fighter for cause of the Filipino working class and people.
By aligning itself with the murderous and criminal Arroyo regime which masterminded the more than 800 extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, the enforced disappearances of hundreds more and the forced displacement of millions of Filipinos from their communities, the Dutch government has clearly taken the side of state terrorism.
Particularly in the case of Prof. Sison and his colleagues,
(a) In true blue Gestapo fashion, the Dutch police arrested Prof. Sison and conducted the raids. The police used a ruse to take Prof. Sison into custody. Also during the raids, the raiding team in some cases, did not show any search warrant and forced their entry into the houses by breaking the doors even if people were inside. In some of the houses that were raided, only minors were present.
(b) Julie de Lima Sison, wife of Sison, said at around 9:30 am last Aug. 28, the Dutch police in plainclothes did not even ring or knock, but instead broke down their front door. She was reportedly asked to sit in one corner of their house while the police carted away their computers, documents, CDs, and other files. The search lasted until early evening. She sustained bruises because of manhandling.
(c) Simultaneous with Joma’s arrest and the search on his house, the NDF International Information Office and several other houses of Filipinos in Utrecht, were raided. The Dutch police confiscated computers, laptops, papers, diskettes, CD Roms, and DVDs.
Why do we say that Prof. Sison is suffering torture?
(a) His lawyer, Michiel Pestman, said that he is being kept in solitary confinement, denied visits from his wife, denied warm clothing, denied access to his medicines and access to his own doctor, denied access to newspapers and TV.
(b) Julie De Lima, wife of Professor Sison, tried to see him last Aug. 30 but was denied. She said she also brought some prescription medicines and warm clothes, but prison authorities said these were not allowed.
(c) Professor Sison is being detained at the National Penitentiary in Scheveningen, a facility which was used by the Nazis during World War II to imprison and torture Dutch resistance fighters.
Despite the weak evidence presented by the Dutch prosecutor in the remand hearing in The Hague last Aug. 31, the Dutch judge extended the detention of Professor Sison to 14 more days.
Even when the case against Prof. Sison is still in the stage of being heard and investigated, the Dutch government is determined to violate his basic rights and is treating him torturously. This is a testimony to the hypocrisy of the Dutch government’s adherence to human rights and the rule of law.
Why do we say that the most just demand is to immediately and unconditionally release Prof. Jose Maria Sison?
(a) The case against him is based on trumped up charges and is politically-motivated.
(b) There is a conspiracy by the Dutch and Philippine governments to persecute Prof. Sison politically.
(c) The persecution of Sison through the use of judicial processes exposes the rottenness and corruption of the Dutch justice and political system.
(d) The unjust arrest shows Dutch repression. The Dutch authorities are now torturing Prof. Sison.
(e) The conspiracy of persecution is a concrete manifestation of Dutch imperialist intervention and repression and is an affront to the right of the Filipino people to self-determination.
http://www.freejomapetition.org
http://www.defendsison.be
Deutsch: http://thecaravan.org/node/1331
The Poem; http://www.defendsison.be/index.php?menu=1
FREE PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON !