MANILA: Philippine prosecutors have dismissed rebellion complaints against 59 men who were stopped by police and army troops at two checkpoints in the south and accused of attempting to join Daesh-linked militants who laid siege to a southern city.
Senior government prosecutor Peter Ong said Thursday the complaints filed by the military against the Muslim men were dismissed because of a lack of strong evidence, and authorities were ordered to free all the men.
“It is clear that respondents were not committing the crime of rebellion or any crime at the time of their arrests,” Ong and two other prosecutors said in their findings, a copy of which was seen by The Associated Press.
The men, who traveled in two big groups, may have sparked the suspicion of troops and police at checkpoints because of the Marawi siege, “but suspicion alone is not sufficient to arrest, detain, charge and indict respondents,” the prosecutors said.
Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said the military respects the prosecutors’ decision but that security officials still believe the men could “perhaps be eventually deployed to Marawi.”
The ruling shows that the rule of law continues to work under martial law that was declared in the south by President Rodrigo Duterte to deal with the Marawi crisis, Padilla said, adding that the men were treated well and would be flown back to the south on an air force plane.
The 59 were taken into custody in southern Zamboanga city and Ipil town on July 25 amid intelligence reports that Muslim militants would attempt to reinforce the gunmen who attacked Marawi and were being bombarded by military airstrikes and ground assaults.
A lone witness said the mostly young Muslim men were to be given combat training and then deployed to reinforce the beleaguered militants, who were holding out in buildings and mosques in Marawi.
The arrested men strongly denied the allegation, saying they were recruited by a man who promised to bring them to a rebel camp for combat training and then help them be integrated into the military and police under a peace deal with the government.
Ong said he and the other prosecutors did not find the witness credible.
During a hearing at the Department of Justice on July 28, some of the arrested men, guarded by heavily armed police commandos, told reporters they were poor and jobless and in search of work and a better life.
The violence in Marawi, a center of Islamic faith in the south, has left nearly 800 people dead, including more than 600 militants, and sparked concerns that Daesh group militants were gaining a foothold in Southeast Asia by helping influence and arm local militants.
An estimated 40 gunmen remain in Marawi and are continuing to fight as troops advance in previously scenic lakeside communities that are now a smoldering wasteland of disfigured buildings.
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59 Filipinos accused of links to Marawi siege ordered freed
59 Filipinos accused of links to Marawi siege ordered freed
Hillary Clinton tells congressional panel she has no information on Epstein
- Former US Secretary of State says she did not recall ever meeting the late sex offender
- She accused the Republican-led panel of trying to shift focus away from Trump’s ties to Epstein
WASHINGTON: Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a congressional committee on Thursday that she did not recall ever meeting the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had no information to share about his criminal activities. “I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein. I never flew on his plane or visited his island, homes or offices. I have nothing to add to that,” Clinton said in a statement to the House of Representatives Oversight Committee.
Clinton’s statement came as she was due to deliver a closed-door deposition to the committee in Chappaqua, New York. Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, also accused the Republican-led panel of trying to shift focus away from Trump’s ties to Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. She said Trump’s administration has “gutted” a State Department office focused on international sex trafficking. She and her husband, Democratic former President Bill Clinton, initially refused to testify before the committee, but relented when lawmakers moved to hold them in contempt of Congress. Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify to the committee on Friday.
Before the hearing, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, a Republican, denied that the probe was a partisan effort targeting Trump’s 2016 presidential rival, noting that several Democrats had pushed for the Clintons to testify.
“No one is accusing at this moment the Clintons of any wrongdoing,” Comer said.
He said the committee would seek to find out about any interactions she might have had with Epstein, his involvement with the Clintons’ charitable work, and any relationship she may have had with jailed Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters that Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should also testify. Lutnick has admitted to visiting Epstein’s private island years after he says he broke off ties.
A spokesperson for the Clintons did not respond to a request for comment. Comer said transcripts of the Clintons’ interviews will be made public.
Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s after he left office. He has denied wrongdoing and expressed regret for his association.
According to Comer, Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Clinton was in office. Trump also socialized extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, before his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Comer said evidence gathered by the panel does not implicate Trump.
Trump’s Justice Department has released more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related documents over the past several months to comply with a law passed by Congress. The Justice Department sought to draw attention to photos of Bill Clinton, but the documents also have revealed Epstein’s ties to a long list of business and political leaders, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Overseas, they have prompted criminal investigations of Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, and other prominent figures.
Clinton’s statement came as she was due to deliver a closed-door deposition to the committee in Chappaqua, New York. Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, also accused the Republican-led panel of trying to shift focus away from Trump’s ties to Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. She said Trump’s administration has “gutted” a State Department office focused on international sex trafficking. She and her husband, Democratic former President Bill Clinton, initially refused to testify before the committee, but relented when lawmakers moved to hold them in contempt of Congress. Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify to the committee on Friday.
Before the hearing, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, a Republican, denied that the probe was a partisan effort targeting Trump’s 2016 presidential rival, noting that several Democrats had pushed for the Clintons to testify.
“No one is accusing at this moment the Clintons of any wrongdoing,” Comer said.
He said the committee would seek to find out about any interactions she might have had with Epstein, his involvement with the Clintons’ charitable work, and any relationship she may have had with jailed Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Representative Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, told reporters that Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should also testify. Lutnick has admitted to visiting Epstein’s private island years after he says he broke off ties.
A spokesperson for the Clintons did not respond to a request for comment. Comer said transcripts of the Clintons’ interviews will be made public.
Bill Clinton flew on Epstein’s plane several times in the early 2000s after he left office. He has denied wrongdoing and expressed regret for his association.
According to Comer, Epstein visited the White House 17 times while Clinton was in office. Trump also socialized extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, before his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Comer said evidence gathered by the panel does not implicate Trump.
Trump’s Justice Department has released more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related documents over the past several months to comply with a law passed by Congress. The Justice Department sought to draw attention to photos of Bill Clinton, but the documents also have revealed Epstein’s ties to a long list of business and political leaders, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Overseas, they have prompted criminal investigations of Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, and other prominent figures.
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