United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on freedom of expression Irene Khan reiterated her call for the immediate freedom of jailed journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, calling her imprisonment an “absolute shame.”
A few days after the presentation of her final report to the UN Human Rights Council on her official visit to the Philippines last year, Khan said Cumpio’s prolonged imprisonment is a “travesty of justice.”
In a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland today, the independent expert bewailed that Cumpio and her fellow detainees Marielle Domequil and Alexander Abinguna have already spent more than five years in jail even if they would eventually be found innocent by the court.
“For some reason, I do not know why the (Philippine) authorities are not approving their petition for bail. They should accelerate the trials,” Khan said.
“I think it is an absolute shame,” she added.
Cumpio, the lone journalist in jail in the country, figured prominently in Khan’s report and recommendations, rejecting the Philippine government’s claim that Cumpio and her fellow detainees are being given “due process.”
“But this is injustice. A trial on snail’s pace is injustice,” Khan said.
Cumpio and four others, collectively known as the Tacloban 5 were arrested on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives in February 2020. Cumpio and Domequil were subsequently charged with terrorism financing, another non-bailable offense.
But Khan pointed out that Cumpio and the others were victims of red-tagging before their questionable arrest.
Khan visited Cumpio, Domequil and Abinguna at the Tacloban District Jail during her official visit in early 2024 despite reported efforts by some government authorities to dissuade her from doing so.
She said there is a “very high likelihood” of impropriety in their arrest given the detainees’ ages.
Cumpio was 20 years old at the time of their arrest.
“That’s half a decade. She’s now 25 year’s old. That is why their cases have become emblematic,” Khan said.
“This is an absolutely horrendous miscarriage of justice right under our eyes,” the Harvard law graduate and Geneva law professor added.
The UN expert also said that Cumpio’s case shows that the Philippine justice system “almost becomes a system for harassing.”
“I hope my report creates an impetus for the Philippine government seriously consider if what is happening now is appropriate,” Khan concluded.
