United Nations (UN) human rights experts expressed alarm over the continued detention of a journalist and a development worker following a “not guilty” verdict on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives against them last January.
Five UN special rapporteurs said that journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio and church lay worker Marielle Domequil’s continued imprisonment is “deeply troubling,” as their petition for temporary liberty had been denied by a local court on the extra charge of terrorism financing.
“Frenchie and Marielle have suffered six years of pre-trial detention and a fraught legal process with a string of charges that have been widely criticized as baseless and in retaliation for their human rights work,” the experts said.
“At a minimum, they should be released on bail while they pursue their appeal,” Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers in a statement on Thursday said.
Cumpio and Domequil suffered months of ‘red-tagging’ and harassment attributed to State agents before their midnight arrest on 7 February 2020, the experts from Geneva said.
“Given the serious concerns about the unconscionable length of time that the two young women have already spent in detention and the lack of due process, but also a possibility now of provisional release, we urge the court to grant them bail without any further delay,” the experts said.
One of the youngest and longest imprisoned journalists in the world, Cumpio 27, has been nominated for the 2026 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize by Free Press Unlimited, Rapporteurs Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders, RSF), and Committee for the Protection of Journalists.
“Frenchie and Marielle deserve to be free to fight for justice,” the UN experts added.
The rapporteurs said they are in contact with the Philippine government on the global campaign for the two’s immediate freedom. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
