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Press Statement
June 5, 2008
AFP NEWS REPORT IS INACCURATE AND MISLEADING
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
The Agence France Presse issued a news report on June 5, 2008 which
states: “A Dutch court (i.e. District Court of The Hague) gave prosecutors
the go-ahead Thursday to pursue murder charges against Philippine
communist leader, despite an earlier dismissal of the case.”
To be exact, the court decision is to allow the public prosecutor’s office
to have time to continue and complete the investigation it is undertaking
and subsequently decide whether or not to file a formal criminal charge.
The court acceded to the plea of the prosecution that it be allowed to
examine some materials seized on August 28, 2007 but not yet examined by
it since then and to possibly interrogate further witnesses.
At the same time, the court decision acknowledges that so far there is no
prima facie or incriminating evidence against me. The District Court of
The Hague has affirmed my position that since the examining judge (rechter-commissaris)
decided to close the preliminary investigation on 21 November 2007 the
prosecution has not turned up any evidence to overturn the decision of the
Court of Appeal on October 3, 2007 declaring that there is no prima facie
evidence against me.
My lawyer Michiel Pestman and I derided as “more of the same rubbish” the
more than six thick folders presented by the prosecutors during the May
20, 2008 hearing of my complaint against the prolongation of the
investigation and my demand for the investigation to be closed and for the
case to be dropped.
The aforesaid Agence France Presse report also makes it appear that the
Dutch prosecution is about to file formal charges of murder against me in
court. That is not true. Before it can file a case against me in court,
the prosecution has to go through several stages.
It must first be able to find prima facie evidence and go to court to ask
for the appointment of a new examining judge. Then the prosecution gathers
further witnesses and evidence and allows me and my counsel to cross
examine the witnesses and get my witnesses. After the round, we can all go
to court for trial of the formal charge.
However, we must remember that aside from ruling that there is no prima
facie evidence against me the Court of Appeal in The Hague also ruled that
there is a political context of the unfounded charge against me. Within
that context, there can be no due process because the witnesses provided
by the Arroyo government to the Dutch government are unreliable and it is
doubtful whether I can cross-examine all such witnesses and get witnesses
in my favor from the Philippines.
In sharp contrast to the absence of prima facie evidence against me, the
Dutch prosecution office and Dutch police have turned up witnesses and
documentary evidence to prove that two assassination teams were dispatched
from the Philippines to The Netherlands to kill me within the period of
1999-2001. But the Dutch authorities have not moved to pursue a serious
investigation of these grave criminal acts and infringements of Dutch
sovereignty and territory.
For the purpose of legal action, my lawyers are studying the failure of
the Dutch authorities to act promptly on the findings about the
assassination projects of the Philippine authorities.###
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