28 January 2005 – Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Jose S. Brillantes has issued urgent instructions to Mr. Luis Cruz, Charge d’ Affaires of the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to exhaust all legal remedies within the Malaysian Justice system to help Filipino Nelson Diana, who is now facing capital punishment for a drug-related offense.

In his report to the Department, Mr. Cruz said that on 26 January 2005, the presiding judge of the Malaysian lower court sentenced Mr. Diana to death by hanging for trafficking 508.6 grams of cocaine.  The Filipino was charged under Section 39-B of the Malaysian Dangerous Drugs Act of 1952, which carries a mandatory death penalty for conviction of drug trafficking.  Under Malaysian criminal law, possession of more than 40 grams of illegal drugs is considered trafficking.

Undersecretary Brillantes instructed the Philippine Embassy to make representations with Mr. Diana’s court-appointed lawyer, Mr. Srikhant Pillai, to exhaust all possible remedies on behalf of the Filipino and immediately appeal the case to the Malaysian Court of Appeals.  Undersecretary Brillantes also instructed the Philippine Embassy to ensure that the rights of Mr. Diana are properly protected at all times and that all necessary consular assistance be extended to him.

Since Mr. Diana’s arrest, the DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs and the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur have been closely monitoring the progress of the case.  Embassy representatives regularly visited Mr. Diana while in detention.  The Embassy also appointed an official translator/interpreter to assist Mr. Diana during his court appearances where the proceedings were held in Bahasa.  The Embassy representatives were present in all the eight hearings of the case.

In the course of the 8 hearings, Embassy representatives regularly consulted Mr. Diana’s lawyer on the progress of the case and on any further assistance they could extend particularly in ensuring that due process of law under the Malaysian criminal system and the protection of human rights are enjoyed by the accused Filipino.      In Manila, the OUMWWA is regularly informing Mr. Diana’s wife on the status of the case and on the assistance being extended by the Embassy as well as by the DFA.

At the start of the case, Philippine Embassy officials spoke with Mr. Diana to recount the events leading to his arrest.   Mr. Diana arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 22 August 2002 to book a connecting flight to Bangkok.  On that date, Mr. Diana’s baggage was the only one left unclaimed at the airport’s baggage claim section.  According to the report of the Embassy on the conversations with Mr. Diana, before the former seaman went to claim his bag, airport police inquired as to why he was late and requested that his hand-carried briefcase be inspected.  The Embassy report stated that even before the police even began their inspection of his briefcase, Mr. Diana admitted that it contained the cocaine.  Malaysian Police found concealed in the inside lining of the briefcase the 508.6 grams of the illegal drug.  END
 
 

/jay