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APPEAL TO STOP THE OPPRESSIVE POLICY AGAINST PROF. SISON
AND TO RESPECT THE EUROPEAN COURT DECISION IN HIS FAVOR
International Committee DEFEND
International Committee to DEFEND Filipino Progressives in Europe
______________________________________________________________________
APPEAL TO STOP THE OPPRESSIVE POLICY AGAINST PROF. SISON
AND TO RESPECT THE EUROPEAN COURT DECISION IN HIS FAVOR
We, the International Committee DEFEND, hereby appeal to the Council of the European
Union (EU) and all member-states of the EU to stop the oppressive policy of maintaining
the name of Prof. Jose Maria Sison in the so-called terrorist blacklist, unjustly imposing
harsh sanctions on him and violating his fundamental rights.
We demand that they respect and give due course to the 30 September 2009 judgment
of the European Court of First Instance (ECFI) annulling the decisions and a regulation of
the Council of EU that have put Prof. Sison in the EU terrorist blacklist and thereby
removing him from said list and unfreezing his small personal bank account.
The ECFI has ruled that Prof. Sison cannot be blacklisted as a terrorist because he has
not been investigated, prosecuted or convicted for any specific act of terrorism and
because Dutch court decisions on his asylum case and on the dismissed false murder
charges against him cannot be used as legal basis for blacklisting him.
The ECFI judgment on the aforesaid substantial issues complements its earlier judgment
on procedural issues on 11 July 2007 in which the ECFI rules that the name of Prof.
Sison must be removed from the blacklist because of the infringement or violation of
his fundamental rights to be properly informed of the charge of terrorism, to have legal
defense and to have judicial protection.
There is no way that the Council of EU can make a serious appeal on a question of law
in view of the ECFI judgments in favor of Prof. Sison on both procedural and substantive
issues. But the Council can make a frivolous appeal or undertake other actions calculated
to delay and deny the justice that Prof. Sison has long sought and fought for legally.
We appeal to the Council and member-states of EU to refrain from such unjust actions
and to allow Prof. Sison to normalize his life in The Netherlands, without having to suffer
any further the inhuman sanctions and restrictions on his rights that he has endured for
more than seven years.
As everyone knows, the unjust terrorist blacklisting has been used to deprive him of
social benefits (living allowance, housing, health insurance and old age pension), ban
him from work or rendering professional services with remuneration, deny him the
residence permit, restrict his right to travel, incite public hatred against him and invite
attacks on his life, limb and dignity as a human being.
Respect for the judgment of the ECFI and for the rights of Prof. Sison upholds the
rule of law and the principles of human rights. It allows him to lead a normal life in
Europe, particularly in The Netherlands, and also enables him to become more active
and effective as chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the
Philippines (NDFP) in peace negotiations with the Government of the Republic of
the Philippines (GRP).
We call on all institutions, organizations and individuals concerned with human rights
and the plight of refugees to co-sign, reproduce and circulate this appeal for further
signing and to undertake activities to persuade the Council and the member-states of
the EU to stop the oppressive policy against Prof. Jose Maria Sison and to refrain from
delaying or undercutting the effectivity of the ECFI judgment in his favor.
Please scan and email the signed copies of this appeal to [email protected]
Name Signature Organization Address Email Phone
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