By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chief Political Consultant
National Democratic Front of the Phillippines
December 11, 2017
More than a week ago, the Duterte troll army circulated the fake news that I was recently arrested in The Netherlands by Dutch detectives accompanied by two officers of Duterte´s presidential security force. The fake news is just a rehash of a news story in 2007 about my arrest on false charges of murder which would be completely dismissed by the Dutch national prosecution office in early 2009.
Despite my expose of the fake news in an interview published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on December 2, the Duterte troll army persisted in circulating the false story. The fake news generators include: Duterte News Global, President Duterte Loyal Supporters, Duterte Saviors of Filipinos Today, Duterte Para sa Pagbabago, Duterte Media, Ako Ang Media Ni Duterte, Duterte News, PRRD Worldwide, The President Duterte Guardians.
The next propaganda attack against me took the form of a headline news story in the Manila Times, titled ¨Joma Sison to lose asylum status”and published on December 9. It featured mainly Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Ramon Casiple who dueted on the line that I would lose my asylum status in The Netherlands as soon as Duterte gets a regional trial court to proscribe the CPP, NPA and myself as ¨terrorists”and could be deported to the Philippines despite the absence of an extradition between the Philippine and The Netherlands.
The two gentlemen, Cayetano and Casiple, are grossly ignorant of Dutch and international law and jurisprudence pertaining to my situation and the cases I have won in The Netherlands.
Aside from considering the absence of extradition treaty, I am protected by the following:
- The Raad van State (Council of State), highest administrative court in the The Netherlands, recognized me as a political refugee in 1992 under the Refugee Convention on the basis of the fact that I was persecuted and subjected to torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment by the Marcos fascist regime and its military organization which continues to exist.
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The Raad van State further ruled in 1995 that I was protected by Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights which prohibits the Dutch government from deporting me to the Philippines or a third country and putting me at risk of persecution, torture and inhumane and degrading treatment.
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I won my case for the removal of my name from the EU terrorist list before the European Court of Justice which ruled in 2009 that the listing and sanctions (like freezing of financial accounts and transactions) were imposed in violation of the following: the right to be priorly informed of the charge, the right to be defended by counsel and the right to seek judicial protection. The court further found no evidence of any complicity on my part in any act of terrorism.
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I won my case against the false murder charges cooked up from 2006 to 2007 by the Arroyo regime and fed to the Dutch authorities. For lack of sufficient evidence, I was released from prison by the Dutch court after 17 days of detention in 2007. The Dutch national prosecution service stopped further investigation in 2009. The Dutch court and prosecution office found no evidence that I collaborated with anyone in the commission of any of the alleged crimes in the Philippines.
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I enjoy the solidarity and support of progressive political parties, organizations, personages and academic friends in The Netherlands and other EU countries. In sharp contrast to me, Duterte is notorious in Europe for gross and systematic human rights violations, especially the mass murder of suspected users and pushers of illegal drugs in impoverished communities, the destruction of Marawi City through indiscriminate bombing and the growing number of political abductions and murders of trade unionists, peasants activists, indigenous people, suspected rebels, human rights activists, peace advocates and other social activists being killed without due process and with impunity.###
Reference Material
Press Release December 11, 2009
SISON’S REMOVAL FROM EU TERRORIST BLACKLIST FINAL AND EXECUTORY
International Committee DEFEND
International Committee to DEFEND Filipino Progressives in Europe
Press Release
11 December 2009
EUROPEAN COURT JUDGMENT REMOVING PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON
FROM THE EU TERRORIST BLACKLIST IS NOW FINAL AND EXECUTORY
The judgment of the European Court of First Instance (now called the General Court under the Lisbon Treaty) removing Prof. Jose Maria Sison last 30 September 2009 from the terrorist blacklist of the European Union and unfreezing his bank account is now final and executory.
Through its Legal Office, the Council of the European Union has confirmed today to Jan Fermon, the lead lawyer of Prof. Sison, that it has not lodged an appeal of the aforesaid judgment to the European Court of Justice within the prescribed period of appeal of two months and ten days from the date of judgment. The expiry date for the appeal was yesterday, 10 December 2009.
Prof. Sison has sealed his victory after more than seven years of legal struggle against the EU terrorist blacklist since he was placed there on 22 October 2002 and was subjected to deprivation of the essential needs of human life and the violation of his fundamental human rights.
Prof. Sison won his case against the Council of EU before the European Court in 2007 on procedural issues. The court ruled that the Council has violated his rights to be properly informed of the charge, to be defended by counsel and to seek judicial protection.
Last 30 September 2009, Prof. Sison won his case on substantive issues. The court ruled that he was never investigated, prosecuted nor convicted for any specific act of terrorism and that passing and incidental statements in Dutch court judgments actually favorable to him on his asylum case from 1992 to 1997 and on the unproven murder charge against in 2007 did not make him a terrorist.
The 30 September judgment of the European court in favor of Prof. Sison is a brilliant landmark decision. It is a standard for preventing the arbitrariness of European governments in blacklisting individuals, organizations and other entities as terrorists and for upholding and respecting their human rights. It is a blow on trends of fascism in Europe which have been growing in the name of anti-terrorism.
With the 30 September judgment having become final and executory, the case of Prof. Sison against the Council of EU can move forward to the stage of determining what compensation shall be made to his lawyers and to him for the deprivations, violations of rights and moral and material damages that he has suffered for more than seven years.
Prof. Sison’s battery of lawyers includes Jan Fermon from Belgium, Romeo T. Capulong of the Philippines, Hans Eberhard Schultz and Wolfgang Kaleck of Germany, Antoine Comte of France and Dundar Gurses of The Netherlands. Rachel F. Pastores of the Public Interest Law Center and Bernard Tomlow, Dutch lawyer of the NDF International Office, have provided legal cooperation.###
For reference please contact:
Ruth de Leon
International Coordinator-Committee DEFEND
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 00-31-30-8895306
