URGENT ACTION: MISSING MEN BELIEVED TO BE IN POLICE CUSTODY

Further information on UA: 13/12 Index: ASA 35/002/2012 Philippines 

Date: 30 January 2012

Three men, who have been missing since 3 January, are now believed to be in police custody in an undisclosed location in the Philippines.

According to a credible source, intelligence agents apprehended Najir Ahung, Rasdie Kasaran and Yusup Mohammad at Manila domestic airport terminal on 3 January, after they flew in from Zamboanga City. Before being taken, Yusup Mohammad called his mother on his mobile phone, saying they had arrived in Manila.

Najir Ahung also sent an SMS to a relative. That is the last time that anybody has heard from them.

A reliable source has told Amnesty International that the three men are now being held by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group of the Philippine National Police in an undisclosed location. It is feared that they are being detained incommunicado, and are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

The three men were in transit in Manila on their way to Sudan to study under the Arabic Language Programme of the International University of Africa. Najir Ahung is the father of ten children, and an Arabic teacher in a local Islamic school in Basilan, south of the country. Rasdie Kasaran is the father of one child and also a teacher at an Islamic school. 

While the Philippine military routinely denies involvement in any case of enforced disappearance, in previous years Amnesty International has documented the military’s use of enforced disappearance against activists and suspected fighters and supporters of insurgent groups. 

Please write immediately in English or your own language:

- expressing concern for the safety and wellbeing of Najir Ahung, Rasdie Kasaran and Yusup Mohammad, who were apprehended in Manila Airport on 3 January;

- urging the authorities to immediately establish and reveal where the three men are being held;

- calling on them to release Najir Ahung, Rasdie Kasaran and Yusup Mohammad immediately and unconditionally, or else charge them with a recognizably criminal offence.

 

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 12 MARCH 2012 TO:

Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Chief

Police Director Samuel Pagdilao, Jr.

CIDG Office, Camp General Crame

Quezon City, Philippines

Fax:

+63 2705 1526 (extension 5412)

Salutation: Dear Police Director

 

Chief, Philippine National Police

Police Dir. General Nicanor Bartolome              

Philippine National Police Headquarters

Camp General Crame          

Quezon City, Philippines

Email: via contact form: http://www.pnp.gov.ph/main/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1&Itemid=67

Salutation: Dear Police Director General

 

And copies to:

Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary

Secretary Jesse M. Robredo

A. Francisco Gold

Condominium II,

EDSA cor. Mapagmahal St.,

Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

Email jmrobredo@dilg.gov.ph

Fax: +63 2925 0332

 

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. Please insert local diplomatic addresses below:

Name

Address 1

Address 2

Address 3

Fax

Fax number

Email

Email address

Salutation     

 

Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the first update of UA 13/12. Further information: http://amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA35/001/2012/en

 Additional Information

Najir Ahung, Rasdie Kasaran and Yusup Mohammad are all residents of Al-Barka municipality, where there is known to be a camp of the insurgent group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Al-Barka municipality, in the remote island province of Basilan, southern Philippines, has seen intermittent fighting between the Philippine military and MILF. Other armed groups including Abu

Sayyaf are also known to be present in the province, adding to general instability there. 

Two of the deadliest clashes between the military and the MILF in recent years occurred in

Al-Barka. On 10 July 2007, 23 marines were killed in an encounter there, 14 of them beheaded.  On 19 October 2011, another armed encounter resulted in over 45 casualties on both sides and 10,000 civilians displaced.  This latest clash has led to a crackdown on residents in Al-Barka, including a complaint-affidavit being filed by the military against 300 unnamed residents.

According to a reliable source, the abduction of the three men comes weeks after the Armed Forces of the Philippines filed 300 “John Doe” complaint affidavits against 300 unspecified residents of Cambug village. In a “John Doe” complaint affidavit or warrant, the authorities do not specify the name of the subject of the complaint or arrest.  Because such documents can be used against anyone, they have resulted in arbitrary arrest and detention. 

Names:  Najir Ahung, Rasdie Kasaran and Yusup Mohammad 

Gender m/f:  All are male

 

Further information on UA: 13/12 Index: ASA 35/002/2012 Issue Date: 30 January 2012