Int’l rights groups demand release of Fil-Am activist Chantal Anicoche from military custody

MANILA — A week after being reported missing, Filipino-American youth activist Chantal Anicoche has been surfaced by the military.

Several international and domestic human rights organizations are calling for her immediate release.

“Chantal faces no case against her. The (Ferdinand) Marcos Jr. regime has no reason to delay Chantal’s freedom,” said Migrante International and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) International in a joint statement.

Anicoche was reported missing after the aerial strafing and bombing of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro on January 1. It is also the same day where an encounter between the Armed Forces of the Philippines the New People’s Army took place.

On January 8, a local media reported that the AFP found Anicoche.

Ephraim Cortez, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), said in a Facebook post that Anicoche is protected by the international humanitarian law (IHL) as a civilian.

Article 27 of the IHL outlines the necessary treatment for protected persons like Anicoche. “They shall at all times be humanely treated, and shall be protected especially against all acts of violence or threats thereof and against insults and public curiosity.”

He also emphasized that Anicoche is also entitled to independent counsel of her own choice. Chantal should also not be subjected to a custodial investigation without her counsel.

“At this stage, there is no legal basis to hold her in custody since the period allowed for any detainee to be held in custody without formal charges already expired,” Cortez added.

The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) said in a statement that Anicoche’s rights must be upheld at all times. “We demand that Chantal must not be subject to any form of torture, interrogation, threat, harassment, and intimidation from the hands of any unit of the AFP,” ICHRP said.

Anicoche is a community leader from the United States and a recent graduate of Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country (UMBC).

Anicoche campaigned for indigenous peoples and farmers in the Philippines through her policy advocacy with the Philippine Human Rights Act campaign. She was inspired to pursue her passion and volunteer in the Philippines and help conduct relief work with the rural communities affected by disasters and poverty— leading her to immerse in Mangyan indigenous peoples in Mindoro. (RVO)

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