Human Rights Watch urges gov't to shutter 'secret jails'

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/04/27/police-station-8-final.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Acting on a tip, the Commission on Human Rights finds several people kept in a hidden jail cell at Manila Police District Station 1 in Tondo. They said they underwent torture and were being forced to pay P40,000 to P200,000 before they will be released. <cite>Fernando G. Sepe, ABS-CBN News</cite></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>International non-government organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Philippine government to protect the rights of alleged drug suspects found detained in a hidden detention cell in a Manila Police District station.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/27/17/higit-10-tao-ikinulong-sa-secret-jail-sa-manila-police-district">Higit 10 tao, ikinulong sa &#x27;secret jail&#x27; sa Manila Police District</a></li></ul><p>In a statement released Saturday, HRW said the government should immediately release the detainees and ensure their protection after release.</p><p>&quot;These detainees have been wrongfully held and should be freed with adequate protections against police reprisal,” said Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.</p><p>&quot;The police authorities should be put on notice that responsibility for the detainees’ safety rests with them,&quot; he added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/28/17/babae-sa-secret-jail-hiningan-ng-p50-k-kapalit-ng-kalayaan">Babae sa ‘secret jail,&#x27; hiningan ng P50-K kapalit ng kalayaan</a></li></ul><p>According to HRW, the hidden detention cell found in MPD Station 1 is not unique, citing a 2015 Commission on Human Rights (CHR) study suggesting that unofficial lock-up cells are a common feature in police stations.</p><p>The study also said that detainees in police lock-up cells in the National Capital Region routinely suffer “deprivation and neglect with respect to their fundamental human rights.”</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/28/17/secret-jail-proves-drug-war-abuses-hrw">&#x27;Secret jail&#x27; proves drug war abuses - HRW</a></li></ul><p>&quot;The government should direct the CHR and the National Bureau of Investigation to locate other secret police jails in the country and prosecute all those responsible,&quot; Kine said.</p><p>&quot;Secret jails may just be one more form of police criminality that has multiplied during the drug war,&quot; he added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/28/17/bato-blasts-chr-backs-cop-behind-secret-jail">Bato blasts CHR, backs cop behind &#x27;secret jail&#x27;</a></li></ul><p>On Thursday, the CHR found 12 men and women detained inside a cramped room hidden behind a bookshelf in the Raxabago police station in Tondo.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1_Container"> <ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Body_Video_1" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-vid="1454676" data-ivs-floating="1"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/iframe-parent.js"></script> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script> </div></figure><p>The CHR said there was no record of the arrest and inquest proceedings for the detainees, who alleged that cops held them in the facility for a week, without notifying their families or lawyers.</p><p>The detainees also accused policemen of torturing them and demanding money for their freedom.</p><p>They also claimed that inadequate lighting, ventilation, and toilet facilities forced them &quot;to urinate and [do] bowel movements in plastic bags,&quot; according to CHR-Metro Manila director Gilbert Boisner.</p><p>Supt. Robert Domingo, commander of the Raxabago station, has denied the allegation, insisting instead that those detained in the hidden cell could not mix with other suspects in the station&#x27;s main cell because no case has been filed against them yet.</p><p>Domingo and 12 other officers of the Raxabago station were temporarily relieved to pave the way for an impartial probe.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/28/17/duterte-vows-to-look-into-secret-jail-uncovered-in-manila">Duterte vows to look into &#x27;secret jail&#x27; uncovered in Manila</a></li></ul>

<p>International non-government organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Philippine government to protect the rights of alleged drug suspects found detained in a hidden detention cell in a Manila Police District station.</p>

International non-government organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the Philippine government to protect the rights of alleged drug suspects found detained in a hidden detention cell in a Manila Police District station.

Human Rights Watch urges gov't to shutter 'secret jails' | ABS-CBN

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Human Rights Watch urges gov't to shutter 'secret jails'

Human Rights Watch urges gov't to shutter 'secret jails'

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 29, 2017 09:46 AM PHT

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