Case file against Isnajis are purely political harassment, says lawyer

Miami
July 21, 2008
Story: Case file against Isnajis are purely political harassment, says lawyer

The lawyer of the suspected kidnappers of the ABS-CBN news team said that filing a case against his clients seems to be a political harassment.

Atty. Joventino Diamante, lawyer of Indanan, Sulu Mayor Alvarez Isnaji and son Haider said that his clients acted as a negotiator for the safe release of the ABS-CBN News Team Ces Orena-Drilon, Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama and the Department of Justice (DOJ) already indicted them on the case.

“I think the panel was pressured, this is merely political harassment because my clients, the Mayor and his son will run on the coming ARMM elections,” Diamante said. Mayor Isnaji is running for Governor of Sulu and Haider is running as Assemblyman on August 11 ARMM elections.

He added that it was high ranking government officials who encourage the Isnajis to take the role as negotiators, “High ranking government officials who gave the Isnajis every encouragement to take on the role of negotiators and even prevailed upon them to stay on when they wanted to back out. Now that the Isnaji are in hot waters they have abandoned them,” Diamante said.

He also insisted that on the affidavits of the victims, no one is implicating the Isnajis as their kidnappers, “In their statements, Ces and her two cameramen did not say anything to directly implicate the two. In fact, Professor Dinampo upheld the innocence of the isnaji and even said that it is unfair to charge the two.”

Meanwhile the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) who filed the case against the Isnjai welcome the decision of the DOJ to file the kidnapping for ransom charges against the father and son Isnaji. Sr. Supt. Joel Coronel said they have enough evidences to prove that the two has something to do with the kidnapping and knew the actions of the kidnappers.