PHL govt helped Pinoy convicted of drug possession in Iran

source: gmanews
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday belied news reports the Philippine Embassy failed to assist a Filipino sentenced to 15 years in prison in Iran for possession of illegal drugs.



In a press statement, the DFA said the Philippine Embassy in Tehran assisted Edmar Aquino before and during his court trials.

“Mr. Aquino was represented by a legal counsel, and Embassy officials attended the court proceedings," the DFA said, quoting a report from the Embassy.

The Embassy added that it coordinated with Iranian authorities in assisting Aquino in his case.

According to the DFA, Aquino, 26, was apprehended in September 2009 at the Shiraz Airport while he was on his way out of Iran, after compressed heroin amounting to 5 kilos were found in his possession, a crime punishable by death penalty.

Aquino denied having knowledge of the content of the bag and claimed that a Nigerian friend asked him to pick up the bag at Toos Hotel in Mashad, to be brought to the Philippines.

Aquino was convicted by the court of Shiraz in Iran in December of the same year, sentencing him to a reduced penalty of 15 years in jail rather than life imprisonment.

“The court considered the fact that Aquino did not distribute the drugs, he was a mere visitor in Iran, and he was young who may have been deceived," the DFA said.

The Embassy added it will continue to make representations for the further commutation of Aquino’s jail sentence.

In earlier reports, migrants’ advocacy group Migrante International said Aquino, as well as other Filipinos overseas convicted of drug trafficking, did not receive assistance from the Philippine government, as it is allegedly the policy of the DFA not to help OFWs involved in possession or trafficking of illegal substances. (http://www.gmanews.tv/100days/story/197245/ofw-group-slams-dfa-double-standards-over-singson-drug-case

Filipinos have fallen prey to drug syndicates by acting as drug mules, or smugglers of prohibited substances across national borders in exchange for as much as $2,000 (about P86,600).

The syndicates, usually drug rings originating from West Africa, employ various modus operandi including:

• stuffing the illegal substance inside the victim’s package, or inside the soles of shoes or buttons of clothes;
• immersing T-shirts in liquefied illegal drugs, to be dried before delivery;
• making the drug mule swallow plastic capsules containing several kilograms of illegal narcotics;
• tucking condoms or plastic canisters containing the illegal substance inside the genitals of female victims; and
• sewing illegal substances into the victims’ abdominal cavities.

The DFA said as of last year, there were over 100 Filipinos sentenced to death over drug trafficking cases all over the world, including over 70 in China and at least 16 in the Middle East.

Three Filipinos are scheduled to be executed in China on Wednesday for drug trafficking.

source: gmanews