Dutch prosecutors to present new evidence vs Joma

Dutch prosecutors to present new evidence vs Joma

The Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday was set to present new evidence against Jose Maria Sison in a Dutch court hearing that may reportedly lead to the re-arrest of the founding chair of the Communist Party of the Philippines, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau correspondent Loui Galicia reported.

The Dutch prosecutor’s office has continued its investigation of Sison’s alleged involvement in the murders of erstwhile allies Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in the Philippines and was given until June to present new evidence.

Sison has however appealed the continued investigation of the Dutch prosecution office and a hearing of a Dutch court was set at 10 a.m. (5 p.m. Manila).

The Dutch prosecutors have reportedly asked for three hours to present its new evidence which comes as a big surprise since the hearing was set to supposedly hear Sison’s appeal.

The Dutch court’s hearing is being held in closed session.

Luis Jalandoni, National Democratic Front chief negotiator in peace talks with the Philippine government, said that the Dutch prosecutors may seek for the immediate re-arrest of Sison.

A protest was launched by Sison’s friends and sympathizers outside the Palace of Justice in The Hague.

Charges not dropped
Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office spokesman Wim de Bruin in a telephone interview last November told ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau that they are not dropping the charges against Sison and that the CPP founder remains a suspect.

"No, you have to separate the criminal investigation by the police from the investigation by the examining judge in The Hague. So the judge decided to finish the investigation but the police investigation will be continued and that means that Mr. Sison is still a suspect," de Bruin explained.

Sison, who is also the chief political consultant of the NDF was arrested and detained in the Scheveningen detention center in The Hague on August 28 for alleged involvement in the murders of Kintanar Tabara in the Philippines. He was later released pending the pre-trial investigation.

De Bruin had said that the prosecutor would still pursue the charges against Sison and affirmed then that they are going to continue the investigation in so far as they know they have sufficient evidence.

De Bruin said that Sison’s defense lawyer cannot file a motion to drop the charges.

Case not closed
Sison’s lawyer Michiel Pestman also confirmed then that the case is not closed yet.

"The case is not closed. It’s the prosecutor, the only person who can decide to close the case apart from the court. She can decide to drop the case which I expect she will do because everyone says that all the judges involved basically say that there’s no hope in hell that she’ll ever get a conviction," said Sison’s lawyer.

Pestman said that even if the pre-trial investigation was closed by the investigating judge, in Holland, the prosecutor can do its own investigation and does not rely solely on the investigating judge.

"They can do their own investigation, the police can do it," Pestman said.
Sison had repeatedly denied the allegations of the Dutch prosecutors.

With reports from ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.

SOURCE: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=118872