Maute bandit found guilty of raping hostage during Marawi siege

A member of the terror Maute group has been found guilty of rebellion and of raping a minor who was taken hostage during the siege of Marawi City in 2017.

The Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 70 sentenced Junaid Macauyag Awal, alias "Vice/Vice Junaid" and "Junaid Romato", to eight to 14 years in prison for rebellion and to reclusion perpetua for rape or sexual slavery under the law penalizing crimes against international humanitarian law.

The court said the case involving the violation of the latter law, Republic Act No. 9851, may be "the first or only one of the few cases" of its kind filed in court.

Awal was accused of taking arms against the government and attacking government forces and innocent civilians, and of enslaving a 16-year-old captive girl who only consented to having sex with him on several occasions out of fear for her life.

While Awal was said to have given the minor's mother a P50,000 dowry, the witnesses said he and the girl were not married. Mother and daughter said they escaped from the Maute group on Oct. 19, 2017.

In his ruling on the rebellion case, Acting Presiding Judge Felix Reyes took notice of the Supreme Court decision finding sufficient factual basis for the proclamation of martial law over Mindanao in 2017.

He also cited witness testimonies identifying Awal as having exchanged fire with government troops.

Awal had denied the charges and argued he was also a hostage, but the court saw this as an "excuse" for him to evade criminal liability. If he had truly been suspected to be a government spy, he would have been killed and not assigned to combat, the judge wrote.

"The court casts serious doubts as to the truthfulness of the version of the defense that the accused was made captive by Maute group and he was forced to hold firearms and fought with government forces under duress or threat," it said.

Meanwhile, the court said the 16-year-old's testimony on the alleged rape "bears the hallmark of truth."

"She testified in a straightforward, candid and convincing manner, leaving no room for doubts that, during several occasions while in captivity as a hostage during the Marawi siege, she was forcibly made as 'sabaya,' meaning 'alila' or 'asawa,'" the court said.

"The accused taking advantage of private complainant's tender age being their hostage, clearly employed force and intimidation in making the latter his sexual slave during the Marawi siege," it added.

The court said the "bestial, cruel and inhuman acts" committed by Awal constituted rape of "extreme gravity" and should be punished under RA 9851.

Government troops battled the Islamic State-inspired militants who occupied Marawi City for five months in 2017, prompting the declaration of martial law over the whole Mindanao region.

The city was declared liberated in October 2017, but martial law will remain imposed over the island until the end of 2019. —NB, GMA News