Palace won’t spare ‘torturers’ of Abu Sayyaf suspect
By Bong Garcia and Jill Beltran
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Abdul Khan Ajid Balanting, 39, a baker from Sumisip town in Basilan, accused members of the military of torturing him after they arrested him in Basilan on July 28.
He showed burns in different parts of his body to substantiate his claims. He sustained burn injuries on his face, chest, lower torso and genitalia.
The al-Qaeda-linked bandit group, where the suspect allegedly belongs, threatened to file torture case against the Aquino administration.
Carandang assured that the implicated military personnel could be charged in both military and criminal courts if proven guilty.
“Human rights violations are human rights violations regardless of who commits them and we will ensure that those who violate other person’s human rights will pay for it,” Carandang said.
Four soldiers whose identities are being withheld by the military were relieved from their posts and placed under “technical arrest” since July 30 while under investigation for the alleged torture.
Carandang said any judgment should be held at the moment since the investigation is still ongoing.
He said Balanting must be able to prove his claims.
“We will have to see if his claims have basis. These are allegations from a suspected Abu Sayyaf member. Let the process determine whether there is basis because it is easy to make accusations against our men in uniform,” he said.
Balinting’s sister, in a press conference, denied her brother’s involvement in the dreaded Abu Sayyaf group, saying her brother has been working as a baker for the past eight years.
She recounted her brother’s ordeal in the hands of his military captors.
She said her brother was preparing the dough that will be used for the bread, which they will sell for the day, when soldiers suddenly kicked open the door of her brother’s house around 5:30 a.m. on July 23.
Upon seeing Balintang, she said the soldiers grabbed and forced him to lie face-down flat on the floor and then tied his hands behind his back with a plastic straw rope.
She said two of her brother’s children, aged 15 and 10, fainted for fear and trauma of seeing fully armed soldiers storm their home.
Balintang’s wife was also stunned by the incident and failed to do anything to help her husband, she said.
The Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC), a grassroots network of Indigenous Peoples, Bangsamoro and Christian communities and leaders who have common vision for peace in Mindanao, is assisting the Balintang family in seeking justice.
The MPC withheld the identities of Balintang’s sister, wife and children for security reasons.
The victim’s wife tried to go along with her husband but was prevented by soldiers when they took him aboard a military truck, she said.
Since then, the only time his family saw Balintang was on July 27 when a Basilan Court issued a writ of habeas corpus.
Balintang told his sister when they met at the Basilan provincial jail that his interrogators have tortured him while he was blindfolded.
“Ajid said that the reason for the burns is because while under interrogation somebody poured gasoline over his head, inside his ears and on his face and set him on fire,” the sister said.
Carlo Cleofe of MPC said that what happened to Ajid was not an accident. “This is torture,” he said.
Cleofe said that members of the human rights association of physicians “are coming over to do the medical documentation” on the physical condition of Balintang in preparation for the filing of the case.
Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang said the incident has been under investigation since July 29.
Cabangbang said the Wesmincom chief Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer also gave specific instruction to the First Infantry Division commander who has jurisdiction over Basilan province to ensure that the victim and his family will be secured from threats and harassments.
“This is a sad incident for us especially if soldiers were found out to be involved,” Cabangbang said, citing Ferrer “wants the incident investigated and the perpetrators punished.”
The alleged torture of Balintang is being investigated by a team headed by Colonel Ukol Paglala, the Wesmincom judge advocate General Officer, Cabangbang said.
Meantime, President Benigno Aquino III has conferred posthumous awards to seven Marine soldiers killed in an encounter with Abu Sayaf bandits in the Patikul, Sulu last July 28.
He awarded the military men with the Gold Cross Medal for Gallantry in Action.
The President visited the remains of the seven marines last Sunday night at the Philippine Marine Corps Auditorium in Fort Bonifacio.
He was joined by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, AFP Chief of Staff Eduardo Oban Jr., Philippine Navy Flag Officer in Charge Rear Admiral Alexander Pama, and Philippine Marine Corps Commandant Major General Rustico Guerrero.
The Gold Cross Medal for Gallantry in Action is the second highest honor that can be bestowed upon a soldier in recognition for his or her sacrifice and efforts to uphold the law.
The seven Marines who were killed in the firefight were Second Lieutenant Michael Baladad, Sergeant Desiderio Serdan Jr., Corporals Ramsel Laynesa, Claro Lapasaran III, and Freddie Castellano Jr., Private First Class Juanito Evasco Jr., and Private Nico Tinambunan.
Aside from the awards, each Marine’s family also received financial assistance, scholarships for their children, as well as housing privileges.
The seven Marines were also promoted to the next higher rank posthumously. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/08/02/palace-wont-spare-torturers-abu-sayyaf-suspect-170386
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