Rights group slams prosecutor for dismissing torture case

On the occasion of International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, an international human rights group on Friday slammed a judge in Batangas prosecutor’s office for dismissing a torture case filed by the family of a man suffering from a mental illness who was arrested in 2012.

Amnesty International urged the government to investigate the junking of the torture complaint filed in behalf of Dave Enriquez against policemen in the southern Luzon province.

In 1997, the United Nations declared June 26 as International Day in Support of Victims of Torture to remind people that the inhuman treatment of men, women and children that happens almost everyday in police stations and places of detention all over the world, must be stopped.

One aspect that needs special attention is the provision and enforcement of “proper mechanisms to handle suspects with mental and learning disabilities,” Amnesty International said.

The Tanauan City prosecutors’ office earlier reaffirmed a resolution dismissing the case against the policemen for insufficiency of evidence, despite a Commission on Human Rights ruling recommending the filing of torture cases against the policemen, citing independent medical reports.

Tortured by cops

Enriquez, then 23, was arrested after he was accused by his ex-boss of stealing two roosters, a charge which the victim denied. While in custody, the victim claimed he was hit by a wooden paddle by policemen and his fingers pounded with a large stapler, while four policemen banged his head against the gate of his cell.

Amnesty International said Enriquez was not allowed to meet his family or consult a lawyer, nor was he provided with any special care for his mental condition.

An initial medical examination stated he was in “essentially normal physical condition,” but an examination conducted after the family filed a complaint with the CHR showed that the victim suffered hematomas and soft tissue swelling in the legs, back and chest.

Gemma Cunanan, director of Amnesty International Philippines, stressed that Enriquez’s torturers must be brought to justice and no one should get away with torture.

“His allegations of torture must be thoroughly investigated, and he must receive effective remedy for the torture and ill treatment he was subjected to. Some of these policemen torture children, women and even people with mental disabilities,” Cunanan said.

The Tanauan City prosecutors’ office first dismissed the torture complaint against one of the policemen, citing insufficiency of evidence because of earlier medical certificates showing no signs of maltreatment or physical injuries. The agency affirmed this in another resolution in May.

Editor’s note: The title of this article has been revised to correctly state that it was the prosecutor’s office that dismissed the case.