NUJP seeks probe into BJMP’s ‘abusive, illegal’ blocking of jailed activist’s interview

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) decried on Wednesday the “abusive” and “illegal” effort of Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) personnel to block the media from interviewing jailed activist Reina Mae Nasino.

Nasino’s shortened visit to her infant child’s wake ended in tension after BJMP personnel moved to prevent the activist from speaking with the media.

“Ms. Nasino’s visit to her deceased daughter is clearly a matter of public interest as it is part of an issue that touches on some very basic human rights, particularly that of a mother deprived of the opportunity to nurture her child and, failing that, to comfort her and bid her goodbye in her final moments,” the NUJP said.

Nasino’s three-month-old baby River died last week after she was diagnosed with pneumonia while separated from her mother.

A Manila court initially granted Nasino a three-day furlough to attend her baby’s wake and burial but later shortened it to just six hours upon the request of a jail warden.

“The BJMP personnel who trampled on the rights of both the news personnel covering the event and of Ms. Nasino, whose incarceration does not deprive her of the right to free expression, were either ignorant of media’s role in a democracy or did not care,” the NUJP said.

“We demand an immediate and transparent investigation into this incident and for sanctions to be leveled against both the unit commander who either ordered or failed to prevent this gross violation of civil rights and the personnel who obeyed, willingly or not, a clearly illegal order,” the group added. -- BAP, GMA News