UN envoy slams delays in trial of 2 rights activists

UNITED Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression Irene Khan yesterday criticized the protracted trial of two human rights activists and a journalist who are detained in Tacloban City.

Khan visited journalist Frenchie Cumpio, and activists Marielle Domequil and Alexander Abinguna at the Tacloban City Jail on Sunday.

“Arrested in Feb 2020, trial still dragging on. How long must they wait to be free?!” Khan said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, after her visit.

She added: “We are the only international visitors so far allowed by the Philippine government to visit them.”

The UN rapporteur did not provide additional details on the visit.

Cumpio, Domequil and Abinguna were apprehended in February 2020 on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Cumpio, an anchor of radio program “Lingganay han Kamatuuran” and a journalist for the Eastern Vista media outfit, was a victim of red-tagging, harassment, and police surveillance prior to her arrest.

Abinguna is a human rights worker and a member of the National Council of the Karapatan in Eastern Visayas, while Domequil is a staff of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines – Eastern Visayas.

Karapatan is an alliance of organizations, groups and individuals working for the promotion and defense of human rights and people’s rights in the Philippines and at the global level.

The Philippine Army has tagged Domequil as an alleged member of the NPA’s Regional White Area Committee (RWAC-EVRPC).

Last week, officials of the Department of Justice, Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat, and the Presidential Task Force on Media Security assured Khan that the government is doing everything to ensure the safety and welfare of the media while prosecuting to the fullest those who attack them.

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo and the rest of the Supreme Court magistrates have also affirmed the judiciary’s commitment to free speech during their meeting with Khan last week.

Khan is in the country for a 10-day visit. At the end of her visit, which will be on February 2, she is expected to come up with a final report to be considered during the 59th