Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that a man, who was last seen alive in custody of a unit of investigators, had been found dead. When his decomposing body was recovered, it was placed inside an oil drum filled with construction cement, his hands were tied behind his back, his teeth had been extracted and his body showed visible traces of torture.
CASE NARRATIVE: (According to information received from Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) – Mindanao)
Sumar K. Abdulwahab was a Muslim and a Maguindanaon (an ethnic tribe). On 3 June, 2010 at 2:30pm, officers from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), a special investigating body, arrested him in Sitio (sub-section of the village) Manil, Barangay Daliao, Maasim town, Sarangani Province on murder charges. The NBI is an agency attached to, and under, the supervision of the Department of Justice (DoJ).
The NBI claimed they had arrest orders for Abdulwahab on charges of murder, which included one count of Murder, Multiple Frustrated Murder and Multiple attempted Murder.
The victim was seen sitting at a post of the Barangay Defense Force (BDF) when the NBI officers, who were onboard four separate vehicles, arrived. They immediately cuffed his hands behind his back after showing him the arrest orders. The person manning the post was then told to take the victim’s motorcycle to the office of the village chief.
On 4 June, Abdulwahab’s sister, Johaniya, and a council member of their village, had gone to the office of the NBI in Barangay Lagao, General Santos City. The NBI, however, told them that they could only see Abdulwahab the next day. They were also told to bring the personal effects of the victim for him to use when they returned.
When Johaniya and others returned the next day at 3pm the NBI personnel refused them entry to their office and told her that Abdulwahab had escaped the night before at around 11pm to 11:30pm, by breaking the glass window of the detention facility where he was held. After this visit to the NBI, the victim’s family had not heard any news regarding his whereabouts.
But on 8 June, five days after he had gone missing, the victim’s family heard over the radio of the recovery of a dead body by scavengers in Malalag, Davao del Sur (a place which is a considerable distance from their town). The decomposing body had been placed inside an oil drum filled with construction cement; his hands were tied behind his back and the body showed visible signs of torture. The corpse was found near a cliff after a foul smell had drawn the attention of the scavengers, who then informed the police.
After hearing the report over the radio, the victim’s family had immediately gone to the place where the corpse was found. It is common in the Philippines for families of missing persons to check every reported recovery of bodies to see if it was their loved ones. In this case, the family’s fears proved true.
When the family arrived at the local funeral parlor where the corpse was taken, they were only able to confirm that the corpse was that of Sumar Abdulwahab by his clothes and a picture of his child in a pocket. In the post mortem report, it found that the victim suffered a 5.2 centimeter wound behind his ear, a skull fracture and contusion in his right check. Also, the victim’s teeth had been extracted.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities below requesting them to conduct a thorough investigation into the victim’s death. The NBI should be investigated for violation of legal provisions on the right of the detainees, particularly on free access by families of arrestees. They should also be questioned to determine whether or not they had involvement in the victim’s death.
The AHRC has also written letters to the Special Rapporteurs on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions for their intervention.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear_______,
PHILIPPINES: Suspicious death of a man last seen in NBI custody
Name of the victim: Sumar Abdulwahab, 47 years old, married, a resident of Sitio (sub-section of the village) Manil, Barangay Daliao, Maasim town, Sarangani province. He was last seen alive in custody of the NBI before he was found dead five days later.
Arresting officers: Officers from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) stationed in General Santos City
Date of incident: 3 June, 2010 at 2:30pm. He allegedly escaped from the NBI’s custody at around 11pm of the same day.
Place of his arrest: Sitio Manil, Barangay Daliao, Maasim town, Sarangani Province
Location where his corpse was found: Malalag, Davao del Sur
I am writing to express my deep concern at the suspicious death of Sumar Abdulwahab, a murder suspect, who was last seen alive in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in General Santos City. The NBI had claimed that before the victim was found dead, he had escaped from their custody by breaking the glass window of their detention facility.
The victim was arrested on 3 June, 2010 at 2:30pm in Maasim town, Sarangani Province. His arrest was due to the murder charges filed against him. He was detained at the NBI’s detention facility; however, he allegedly escaped at 11pm to 11:30pm on the same day. The victim’s whereabouts had not been known following his alleged escaped until his dead body was found on 8 June.
When the corpse was found by scavengers, it was wrapped in a laminated sack and placed in an oil drum filled with construction cement; his hands were tied behind his back, and his teeth had been extracted. The corpse also showed visible signs of torture. The post mortem report indicated that the victim suffered a 5.2 centimeter wound behind his ear, a skull fracture, contusions to his right check and his teeth had been extracted.
The decomposing corpse was found in Malalag, Davao del Sur–which is several kilometers away from the NBI’s detention facility from which the victim had allegedly escaped.
I am deeply concerned about the circumstances that could have lead to the victim’s suspicious death. I question the NBI’s detention of the murder suspect in their office which I am aware does not fulfill the standards of a detention facility. I do understand that while the NBI, in some places maintain proper detention facilities the one in General Santos City does not qualify as such. I am fully aware that this particular office is basically a residential house which the NBI occupy. The room can in no way qualify as detention cells.
By maintaining these types of de facto detention facilities, there is no assurance of security and safety both of the arrestee and the officers detaining him. In the NBI’s report it is claimed that the victim had escaped by breaking the ‘cell’s’ glass window. This raises serious questions regarding the capability of the NBI to ensure the safety of the detainee, their officers and the general public should a violent criminal escape.
Also, I fail to comprehend why the NBI did not take the victim to the nearest police station or a proper detention facility where he could be detained with lesser possibility of escape. Unless the NBI is able to give a rational explanation to all these questions, the suspicions of its possible involvement in the victim’s death remain high.
I have learned that when the victim’s sister and others visited him at the NBI’s office the same day that he had been arrested, the NBI personnel prohibited them from seeing him and told them that they could only visit him the following day. However, when she returned the following day she and her companions were again prohibited from entering the NBI’s office. This time due to the excuse that he had allegedly escaped.
The NBI’s refusal to allow the victim’s sister to visit and have free access to the detainee is a breach of section 4 (b, 11) of the Anti-Torture Act of 2009 (RA 9745) and Section 4 (b) the Rights of Person Arrested, Detained or under custodial investigation (RA 7438). The NBI should also be held to account for failing to ensure the safety and security of the arrestee while he was in their custody. I therefore urge that the NBI officers should be investigated to determine these breaches of the above acts.
The circumstances surrounding the victim’s death after he had gone missing for days should likewise be thoroughly investigated. It should also be looked into as to whether or not the NBI officers might have had any involvement in his death. The officers must be suspended so that they cannot interfere with the investigation in order to ensure its credibility and impartiality.
I trust that you will take action on this case.
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Benigno Aquino III
President
Republic of the Philippines
Malacanang Palace
JP Laurel Street, San Miguel
Manila 1005
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 736 1010
Tel: +63 2 735 6201 / 564 1451 to 80
2. The Commissioner
Commission on Human Rights
SAAC Bldg., Commonwealth Avenue
U.P. Complex, Diliman
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 929 0102
Tel: +63 2 928 5655 / 926 6188
E-mail: mtm_rodulfo@yahoo.com
3. Deputy Director General Jesus A. Verzosa
Chief, Philippine National Police (PNP)
Camp General Rafael Crame
Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2724 8763
Tel: +63 2 726 4361/4366/8763
E-mail: ruth_cossid@yahoo.com
4. Mrs. Leila de Lima
Secretary
Department of Justice (DOJ)
DOJ Bldg., Padre Faura
1004 Manila
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 521 1614
E-mail: soj@doj.gov.ph
5. Mr. Emilio Gonzalez
Deputy Ombudsman
Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for the Military
and Other Law Enforcement Offices
3rd Floor, Ombudsman Bldg., Agham Road, Diliman
1104 Quezon City
PHILIPPINES
Fax: +63 2 926 8747
Tel: +63 2 926 9032
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
