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Thursday, December 14, 2006
Marine's lawyers appeal judge's refusal to move him to US custody (12:05 p.m.)
MANILA -- Lawyers for an American Marine convicted of raping a Filipino woman asked the Philippines' Court of Appeals on Thursday to transfer him to US custody during his appeal.
Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith's lawyers filed the motion a day after Judge Benjamin Pozon of the Makati Regional Trial Court denied a joint US-Philippine request to have Smith placed at the US Embassy.
Pozon ordered Smith to remain in a Manila jail, saying a provision of a bilateral military pact that US servicemen accused of crimes could be held by US authorities until all judicial proceedings are completed no longer applied to Smith because he has been convicted.
Smith, 21, of St. Louis, Missouri, was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in prison on Dec. 4.
"We already filed a petition ... asking the court to reverse the ruling of Judge Pozon," said Jose Justiniano, Smith's lawyer. "We believe he committed a grave abuse of discretion when he denied our motion because he applied the wrong provision."
He said Smith's appeal of his conviction was part of court procedures and he "should remain with the US government pending completion of all judicial proceedings."
The US Embassy said Wednesday Pozon's decision "reflects a misunderstanding" of the 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement.
"Continued US-Philippines military cooperation relies upon adherence to the VFA, which provides a clear framework for the legal status of visiting US service members," the statement said.
The 1998 agreement has allowed US troops to train Filipino soldiers in counterterrorism, particularly in the restive south, where al-Qaida-linked militants are active.
But the case also has stirred anti-American feelings in the former US colony, where the US military held permanent bases until 1992.(AP) |
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