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Friday, January 18, 2008
Dutch prosecutors continue investigation of former RP communist leader (8:17 p.m.)
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- The Dutch national prosecutor's office confirmed Friday it will continue its murder investigation of exiled former Philippine communist leader Jose Maria Sison, despite discouragement from judges hearing the case.
"The criminal investigation into the involvement of ... Jose Maria Sison in murder attacks in the Philippines will be pursued," prosecutors said in a statement.
Sison was arrested in August but ordered released for lack of evidence in September.
Prosecutors accuse him of ordering the murder of Romulo Kintanar in 2003 and Arturo Tabara in 2004. The Communist Party of the Philippines, which the European Union designated a terrorist group in 2002, has claimed responsibility for both slayings.
The victims were both former party members who had broken with the group over ideological differences.
Sison helped found the party in 1968, but spent 10 years in prison under the regime of Ferdinand Marcos and has been in the Netherlands for 20 more.
Sison, who denies any role in the killings, says he has been gone too long to hold any direct power in the organization.
Prosecutors lost an appeal of the decision to release him in October. Judges said there was a "political context" to the charges.
In November, the Hague District Court said there was not enough evidence to warrant further investigation.
Prosecutors said then that they would likely press ahead anyway.
"It's an unusual situation," spokesman Wim de Bruin said then.
Friday's statement said the investigation would now continue until mid-2008 at which point prosecutors will decide whether to bring the matter back before a judge. (AP) |
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