Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Bombing suspects are innocent: kin
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The families of three alleged Abu Sayyaf men arrested by the police for the twin bombings in this southern port city appealed to authorities Monday to free the trio, claiming they are innocent.
But police and local government officials said they have witnesses who have implicated Adzmar Abduraop, 33, Angon Asmari, 32, and Ibnoyatim Salangin in the bombings that left 26 people wounded Wednesday night.
The families condemned the arrest of the three men and accused authorities of torturing them into admitting the attacks. They said the three were picked up by the police hours after the blasts and then tortured.
"They are not Abu Sayyafs. They are innocent and good citizens. They tortured them," said the wife of one the three men after visiting them at a tightly guarded prison facility in Zamboanga City.
Another woman said the suspects were applying for passports in the foreign affairs regional office here and showed documents to back her claims.
Police said they arrested the three hours after a bomb explosion ripped through a parked mini-van in Campaner Street in downtown Zamboanga during rush hour on Wednesday.
The second blast tore through the second floor of a three-storey building that houses a restaurant, motel and several shops, just 30 meters away from the main police headquarters.
"The three men were positively identified by witnesses, who saw them in Campaner Street minutes before the blast," local police chief Henry Losanes said.
Police said the suspects are natives of Tipo-Tipo town in Basilan island, a known stronghold of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.
A town councilor, Ibrahim Ismael, arrived in Zamboanga City on Monday and said that those arrested were civilians and not members of the Abu Sayyaf. "I appeal to President Gloria Arroyo to release the three because they are not terrorists," he said.
Basilan Representative Abdulgani Salapuddin condemned the arrest and alleged torture of the three men.
"As an aftermath of the bombings, law authorities picked up three innocent Muslims who were just unfortunately at the wrong place at the wrong time during the blasts. One wrong act cannot be righted by committing another wrong act," he said in a statement posted Monday on the website of the House of Representatives.
He said the three were in Zamboanga City to accompany a woman, Hadija Pulalon, who was booking her ticket for overseas employment Wednesday. He said Abduraup worked in Sabah and just arrived a few weeks ago.
"The real culprits may just be somewhere laughing at us for innocent individuals have been arrested and made to suffer for the crimes they actually committed," he said.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said it is also investigating the arrest of the three suspects.
Police said a witness saw one of the trio ran inside a small hotel minutes after the first explosion. While a second witness claimed he saw one of the three men left a bag, believed to contain the bomb, under the parked vehicle and it exploded later.
Officials did not say what were the motives behind the attacks, but security forces last week arrested an alleged Abu Sayyaf bomb-maker Alex Alvarez, tagged by the military and police as behind the series of explosions in Zamboanga City since 2002. Intelligence officials believed the latest bombings were in retaliation for his arrest. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(August 16, 2005 issue)
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