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Dutch court orders release of Joma due to lack of evidence


(Updated 7:10 p.m.) AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A Dutch court on Thursday ordered the immediate release of Philippine communist leader Jose Maria Sison, saying there was insufficient evidence to hold him on murder charges. Sison was arrested Aug. 28 in Utrecht, where he has lived in self-imposed exile for two decades, for allegedly ordering two rivals killed in Manila. He was due to be released later Thursday from Scheveningen prison outside The Hague, where he had been held much of the time in isolation. The judges said it was clear the Communist Party of the Philippines was responsible, and that the decision to kill the two men had been taken ''within the party structure.'' But there was too little evidence to link Sison directly, the ruling said. ''There is much support in the evidence for the view that (Sison) still plays a prominent role in the Central Committee of the CPP and its military arm, the New People's Army,'' judges at the Hague District Court said in a brief summary of their ruling. But it said the evidence was insufficient to show that Sison ''had a conscious and close cooperation with those in the Philippines who carried out the deed.'' It also said there was inadequate evidence to prosecute Sison for inciting the killings. Prosecution spokesman Wim de Bruin said the prosecution planned to appeal the decision to release Sison. ''In the meantime, the investigation will continue, and Mr. Sison remains a suspect,'' he said. Sison was accused of ordering the murder of Romulo Kintanar in 2003 and Arturo Tabara in 2004. The Communist Party, which the European Union designated a terrorist group in 2002, issued statements claiming it carried out both slayings. ''We're very happy Joma has been released now after 15-16 days of solitary confinement,'' said his close aide Luis Jalandoni, referring to Sison by his nickname. ''We are thankful to his lawyers, who worked very hard for his release,'' and supporters around the world, he said. In 1992, Kintanar and Tabara broke away from the mainstream Communist Party due to differences over whether to pursue Maoist revolutionary strategy, upon which Sison founded the party in 1968 and its armed wing in 1969. Dutch authorities declined to disclose the nature of the evidence against Sison, but said it originated in both the Netherlands and the Philippines. His lawyers had been instructed not to disclose information from two hearings held since Sison's arrest. In Manila, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, who had revealed that the government helped the families of the two murdered men file the case in the Netherlands, had no immediate comment pending a verification of the reported court order. But Gonzales said he has ordered increased protection for complainants and other individuals who could be the target of NPA vengeance. “We have received information from very reliable source the NPA will undertake something ‘major’ in Metro Manila," Gonzales said. Bayan, the Philippines' largest left-wing federation which staged protests at the Dutch embassy demanding Sison's freedom, cheered his release. ''This is just one small victory against the Philippine, Dutch and US governments, that conspired to persecute Sison,'' said the group's secretary general, Renato Reyes. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo hailed Sison's arrest at the time, and issued an offer of amnesty to any fighters loyal to the communist rebellion who turned in their guns. The Philippine government has long sought to bring Sison home to face charges stemming from his leadership of the rebel movement. But no extradition treaty exists between the Philippines and the Netherlands. Manila removed one obstacle toward such a treaty last year when it abolished capital punishment. Sison describes himself as a political consultant for the National Democratic Front, which has been engaged in off-and-on peace talks with Manila to end the 39-year insurgency. The talks broke down in 2004, and the latest amnesty offer was designed to help restart negotiations. - GMANews.TV with a report from AP Originally posted 5:04 p.m.
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