The Dimaporo Gymnasium inside the MSU main campus in Marawi CIty after
the carnage. Photo courtesy of the Facebook page of the provincial
government of Lanao del Sur
MARAWI CITY (MindaNews / 12 December) – The Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission (BHRC) has questioned the arrest of Jafar Gamo Sultan, one of the suspected accomplices nabbed over the weekend for the December 3 bombing inside the Mindanao State University (MSU) campus here that left four Catholic worshippers killed and 72 others wounded.
Lawyer Nasifah Langlang, BHRC Lanao del Sur director, said the 25-year-old Sultan is not on the list of the five suspects earlier identified by the police and the Army as responsible for the deadly bombing.
Authorities also included three “John Does” as suspects.
“If Sultan is not on the list, then why should the police and Army arrest him,” Langlang said.
Sultan’s family was among those affected by the 2017 Marawi siege. They are now living at the Hijra Shelter in Barangay Dulay Proper in Marawi City.
Colonel Robert Daculan, Lanao del Sur police chief, said a case of aiding a “known terrorist,” a violation of the Terrorism Act of 2020, has been filed against Sultan before the Marawi City Prosecution Office Monday afternoon.
Daculan said a separate case of illegal possession of explosives has been filed against Sultan after a small tote bag with traces of explosives was allegedly found in his possession.
“Sultan would be filed under one of the three John Does,” Daculan said.
Col. Xerxes Trinidad, Philippine Army spokesperson, said a joint police and military team arrested Sultan, alias Jaf and Kurot, in Barangay Dulay Proper in Marawi City last Friday.
Trinidad said Sultan was allegedly a companion of a certain Omar, whom witnesses identified as the person who allegedly placed the bomb under a plastic chair during the first Sunday of Advent mass at the Dimaporo Gymnasium inside the MSU-Marawi campus.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a military official who participated in the arrest said Sultan is allegedly one of three persons who acted as lookouts for Omar to get inside the gymnasium.
Police earlier identified Kadapi Mimbesa, alias Engineer, and Arsani Membesa, alias Khatab, Hatab and Lapitos, as “persons of interest” in the bombing.
Sultan’s elder sister Azisah, however, told Radyo Pilipinas Marawi that his brother was at the Amai Pakpak Medical Center during the explosion at the MSU-Marawi campus, preparing for a blood transfusion for a relative
BHRC’s Langlang said the family of Sultan is not filing a criminal case against the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Army for the “wrongful arrest.”
“We have interviewed Sultan at the PNP headquarters and he told us that he was not tortured,” Langlang said.
She said all Sultan and the family want is for the Army and police to release him as soon as possible. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
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