‘Free activist, baby from Cagayan jail’
>> Thursday, January 21, 2021
BAGGAO, Cagayan — A
support group of political prisoners urged release of activist Amanda Echanis
and her three-month-old baby from a jail here where 17 inmates recently tested
positive for Covid-19.
“While we call on the local government to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 among prisoners and jail personnel, we assert that Echanis should be released with her infant at the soonest possible time as children below one year are believed to be at higher risk of severe illness,” Fides Lim, Kapatid spokesperson said.
Lim said they hope authorities would not use the “release the child” argument, noting that separating an infant from the mother is ”not an option, harmful and inhumane.”
”The health of Echanis and her baby is at risk, especially in an overly congested, poorly equipped prison conditions where social distancing is impossible and mass testing for Covid-19 is ignored,” she said.
Echanis was arrested in a raid on her house here in Baggao last month. She was charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Her father, Randall, a consultant of the National Democratic Front, and his companion were killed by unidentified assailants in Quezon City on Aug. 10 last year.
“While we call on the local government to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 among prisoners and jail personnel, we assert that Echanis should be released with her infant at the soonest possible time as children below one year are believed to be at higher risk of severe illness,” Fides Lim, Kapatid spokesperson said.
Lim said they hope authorities would not use the “release the child” argument, noting that separating an infant from the mother is ”not an option, harmful and inhumane.”
”The health of Echanis and her baby is at risk, especially in an overly congested, poorly equipped prison conditions where social distancing is impossible and mass testing for Covid-19 is ignored,” she said.
Echanis was arrested in a raid on her house here in Baggao last month. She was charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Her father, Randall, a consultant of the National Democratic Front, and his companion were killed by unidentified assailants in Quezon City on Aug. 10 last year.
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