Rights group fears reprisal against jailed activist Nasino amid 21-day quarantine

Human rights group Karapatan on Thursday warned jail authorities against "taking any form of reprisal" on jailed activist Reina Mae Nasino as she stays in quarantine following the six hours she spent out of jail to bury her daughter last week.

Karapatan said it received reports that Nasino is on a 21-day quarantine in jail, longer than the 14-day quarantine mandated by health authorities.

"She is alone and isolated, without any other fellow detainee with her for a longer period of time, making her vulnerable to jail officers, who are the only ones who may have direct physical access to her," Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said in a statement.

"Even UN independent experts have opined that more than 15 days of solitary confinement amounts to torture," she added.

Palabay said they are calling for continued vigilance on Nasino's case because officials of the Department of the Interior and Local Government "seem oblivious to criticisms on harsh treatment on Nasino and her family." 

"It is difficult to trust that these officers will ensure Nasino’s rights and welfare while in jail, when they have repeatedly violated these rights in the past weeks. Any form of reprisal, including forms of psychological torture and intimidation, against Nasino would be unacceptable," she said.

The Karapatan official is taking off from how jail and police officers treated Nasino, her family, and her supporters during the wake and burial of her three-month-old daughter, River, who died of pneumonia weeks after being separated from her.

Lawyers for Nasino and activists said the security arrangement -- dozens of armed uniformed personnel, handcuffs on Nasino, and officers "commandeering" the funeral -- was "overkill."

A DILG official, on the other hand, said the setup was merely "anticipative" considering the public significance of the issue.

Nasino was initially allowed by the court to attend River's wake and burial for three days, but the furlough was shortened to just three hours for each of two days after jail authorities claimed they lacked escort personnel.

Nasino was arrested in November 2019 on charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Her camp says the allegations are fabricated.

She cited her pregnancy when she and other detainees asked the Supreme Court (SC) for their release amid the COVID-19 pandemic. By the time the SC released its decision, which only referred the petition to the trial courts, Nasino had given birth.

The detainee was ordered separated from her daughter weeks after she gave birth. — RSJ, GMA News