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Muslims want PNP apology

Tortured ‘Abu’ free again

BAGUIO CITY (Nov. 19) – “We urge the Philippine National police (PNP) to publicly apologized for arresting the wrong Abu Tagalog allegedly involved in the Sidapan hostage taking.”

This is the cry of a high-ranking official of the Office of the Muslim Affairs (OMA) in Northern Luzon and the community of Muslims here after Amil Salih Flamiano, 27, was released last week. The Basilan court proved he is not Abu Tagalog, a member of the Abu Sayyaf, involved in the hostage taking at the Dos Palmas Resort in Sipadan, Palawan.

OMA Director Abel Abdullah Macarimpas issued a statement strongly condemning the manner of the arrest by the PNP-National Capital Region and the inflicted physical harm and violation on the human rights of Amil.

“They (PNP) have to apologize to the Muslim, particularly to those in Baguio. The arrest of Amil did not only inflict wounds to the very person of Amil and his family but also to the peace-loving Muslims,” adds Macarimpas, whose office had been monitoring the case.

“There was a violation of the human rights of Amil. Physical force was inflicted on him. He was tortured by the arresting officer,” he adds, “although a warrant of arrest was issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.” The warrant, though issued by a judge, is allegedly questionable as it only list Abu Tagalog, without description of his person, and is considered a general warrant.

Macarimpas adds, the call for public apology is without compromise of whatever legal aspect that Amil and his family will institute.

Torture

When Amil was arrested on October 29 in the city by the PNP, he was allegedly brought to one of the PNP camps in Manila. NORDIS learned the ordeal that Amil went through in a sharing he made after the noon prayer on Friday, November 18.

The officers reportedly tortured Amil. Among the harms he is recovering from are those that were caused by armalite butt that hit him.

Amil recalled in his mass sharing that he was handcuffed while still in the police detention cell, where his movement was already curtailed.

He also recalled during the mass that guns were always poked at him and had caused him mental and psychological disturbances.

Terrorist

Under police custody, Amil claimed that the arresting officers equate terrorists with Muslims.

“The police claim that when they arrest NPA (New Peoples Army), they are NPA. When they arrest Muslim, they are terrorists,” Amil recounted in the mass.

Macarimpas hit the equation of Islam with terrorism. “The PNP must spare innocent Muslims from being harassed, arrested in the guise of their fight against terrorism. Wounds inflicted against the Muslims will never be healed if their rights are continuously violated and trampled upon,” he adds.

Elusive peace

He adds that sincerity of the government in dealing with Muslims is questionable if the rights of the innocent civilians are not respected.

“The government efforts on national reconciliation and peace remain elusive unless the government is sincere in dealing with the Muslims,” he adds.

Meanwhile, the Muslim community of the city supports the call for the PNP to publicly apologize for the arrest of Amil.

“The act of the PNP will become a precedent where any Mulim can just be arrested even without valid reasons and without observing the appropriate processes,” claims this Muslim vendor in his mid-30s.

He adds that Muslims are in the city to earn a living as there are less job opportunities in war-torn Mindanao, pushing them to this highland city. He cited the case of Amil where he is just an ordinary staff of the Islamic Almaarif Education Center.

Another woman claimed that the terrorist-tagging should be stopped as it affects the Muslims. She joins the groups in Baguio opposing the anti-terrorism bill, which is now ready for debate in congress.

The Muslims interviewed said that had the arresting PNP coordinated with the OMA and Muslim institutions and organizations in Baguio, they could have known then that Amil is not Abu Tagalog. The reward system given to arresting officers of alleged terrorists drove the PNP to adopt “short cut” processes at the expense of Muslims, they added. # Arthur L. Allad-iw for NORDIS

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