Karapatan joined environmental rights activists and other human rights defenders in expressing support for Francisco “Eco” Dangla who will be attending his first hearing at the Court of Appeals on his petition for writs of amparo and habeas data today, November 12, 2024.
Dangla and his companion, fellow environmental activist Joxelle “Jak” Tiong, were abducted in Pangasinan on March 24, 2024. They were subjected to four days of physical, mental and psychological torture by men claiming to have links with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). The men tried to recruit them as government agents before surfacing them.
On September 9, 2024, the Supreme Court temporarily prohibited the AFP and PNP from coming near Dangla and his family while the Court of Appeals hears his motions for protective writs.
“While we sincerely hope that the Court of Appeals grants Dangla’s motions after his harrowing ordeal in the hands of suspected state agents,” said Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay, “we are realistic enough to note that other abduction survivors like Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano have had their motions denied, as have Karapatan, Gabriela and the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines whose leaders and members have been harassed, threatened, unjustly imprisoned and even extrajudicially killed.”
“We eagerly await the ruling of the Court of Appeals on Dangla,” said Palabay, “but we will continue supporting him and other victims of human rights violations through vigorous campaigns in all possible arenas to protect and promote human and people’s rights.”