RED-TAGGING | Police free from detention a journalist after court dismisses case

March 5, 2021 , 07:33 PM

(March 5, 2021) – The Philippine National Police on Friday freed from detention a journalist a month after her case was junked by a local court for lack of evidence.

Lady Ann Salem walked out from detention exactly one month after a Mandaluyong regional trial court dismissed the illegal possession of firearms charges against her. Her release was delayed by a motion filed by the prosecutors contesting the court decision.

“After thorough consideration of the arguments raised and jurisprudence cited in Salem’s comment, the court resolves to reconsider and rule that a trial court is empowered to immediately release the accused if the evidence on record clearly fails to establish probable cause,” the recent court ruling said.

The court said there were inconsistencies in the police testimony as well as a faulty search warrant.

Salem, an editor of Manila Today, was arrested on December 10 on suspicion she was part of a gun-running syndicate. Prior to her arrest, Salem was also baselessly linked to Maoist-led rebel forces. Her arrest coincided with the commemoration of the International Human Rights Day.

She was released along with trade unionist Rodrigo Esparago.

The Public Interest Law Center (PILC), which represented Salem and Esparago, welcomed the court’s decision ordering their release.

It said the court’s decision could help other activists who were also arrested arbitrarily.

“We hope that the other victims of the trumped-up charges resulting from the implementation of this void search warrant be released from detention also,” the PILC said in a statement.

“We will work harder to break the cycle of police abuse in search warrant applications and implementation, and political persecution on the whole.”

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said the continued persecution of journalists and activists could prove that the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has continued to stifle dissent and suppress people’s freedom.

Manila Today was among the media outfits baselessly linked by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) to the Communist rebel forces.

The journalist group believed the arrest of Salem was politically motivated given the nature of her work.

“Even as we celebrate Icy’s freedom, we continue to denounce those who sought to prolong her detention and call on all members of the Philippine community of independent journalists to strengthen our ranks and resist any and all efforts to stop us from serving the people’s right to know,” the NUJP said in a statement.

“Let us also resolve to make all those complicit in this regime’s attack on the media accountable for their shameless subversion of democracy.”

(Beatrice Puente/MM)

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