SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 6, 2008) – Police accused government soldiers of arresting a Muslim man on suspicion he was a member of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu province.
Soldiers arrested the Lincoln Ahmad last week at a budget hotel inside a police base in Jolo town and freed him two days later. The man, the son of a village chieftain Norma Ahmad of Talipao town, accused soldiers of torturing him into admitting that he was an Abu Sayyaf militant.
Police said Ahmad’s family would file criminal charges against the soldiers involved in the illegal arrest. The Commission on Human Rights said it will investigate the report.
Human rights groups in the past have accused the military of violating the rights of civilians, especially during operations in Sulu province. They claimed human rights abuses are rampant in the province.
Early this year, navy and army soldiers also killed seven civilians and an off-duty infantryman in a raid on an alleged Abu Sayyaf hideout in the village of Ipil in Maimbung town.
Several soldiers were also killed and wounded in an ensuing gun battle with armed villagers and human rights investigators said there was no Abu Sayyaf militants in Ipil and that the raiders pillaged houses of civilians.
The military denied all the allegations of human rights violations and blamed leftist organizations for the false reports. (Mindanao Examiner)
Soldiers arrested the Lincoln Ahmad last week at a budget hotel inside a police base in Jolo town and freed him two days later. The man, the son of a village chieftain Norma Ahmad of Talipao town, accused soldiers of torturing him into admitting that he was an Abu Sayyaf militant.
Police said Ahmad’s family would file criminal charges against the soldiers involved in the illegal arrest. The Commission on Human Rights said it will investigate the report.
Human rights groups in the past have accused the military of violating the rights of civilians, especially during operations in Sulu province. They claimed human rights abuses are rampant in the province.
Early this year, navy and army soldiers also killed seven civilians and an off-duty infantryman in a raid on an alleged Abu Sayyaf hideout in the village of Ipil in Maimbung town.
Several soldiers were also killed and wounded in an ensuing gun battle with armed villagers and human rights investigators said there was no Abu Sayyaf militants in Ipil and that the raiders pillaged houses of civilians.
The military denied all the allegations of human rights violations and blamed leftist organizations for the false reports. (Mindanao Examiner)
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