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Saturday, February 24, 2018
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Suspect caught in Lebanon but Syrian wife still at large
ILOILO City – The principal suspect in the death of Joanna Demafelis – an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) from Sitio Cordero, Barangay Ferraris, Sara, Iloilo – has been arrested.
Nader Essam Assaf, the Lebanese employer of Demafelis, was caught on Thursday, the same day that President Rodrigo Duterte visited the OFW’s wake in Sara.
He was cornered in Lebanon, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced last night.
Assaf and Syrian wife Mona Hassoun became subjects of an Interpol manhunt after the discovery early this month of Demafelis’ body inside a freezer in the couple’s abandoned apartment unit in Kuwait.
Kuwaiti authorities sought Interpol’s help in locating the suspects who were believed to have fled to either Lebanon or Syria after torturing Demafelis, according to the DFA.
Foreign Affairs secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said Kuwaiti authorities “conveyed the arrest of Assaf to Philippine Ambassador Renato Villa during a meeting at the Ministry of Interior on Thursday.”
In the same meeting, Major General Ibrahim Al-Tarah, assistant undersecretary for general security affairs of Kuwait, disclosed to Villa that Interpol Lebanon notified Interpol Kuwait that Assaf was apprehended but his wife was still at large in Syria.
Cayetano said he already “informed President [Rodrigo] Duterte about the arrest of Assaf.”
“The President welcomes the news that Nader Essam Assaf is now in the hands of authorities in Lebanon,” Cayetano said.
On Thursday, Duterte assured the family of Demafelis that the government would give them justice.
Cayetano said Assaf’s arrest was a “critical first step in our quest for justice for Joanna.”
“We are thankful to our friends in Kuwait and Lebanon for their assistance,” he said.
Cayetano said he expects Kuwaiti authorities to request the extradition of Assaf so he can stand trial in Kuwait.
The remains of Demafelis were flown to the Philippines last week.
Demafelis’ death and widespread reports of abuse among OFWs in Kuwait triggered the President to ban the deployment of workers to the Gulf state.
Duterte said in Sara that the ban on the deployment of OFWs to Kuwait stays and may even expand to other countries.
“We are doing an audit now (to) find out the places where our countrymen suffer brutal treatment and human degradation,” said the President.
Over two million Filipinos are working in Kuwait and other Middle East countries, including Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, but many cases of abuse have also been reported elsewhere. They often work as domestic helpers, construction workers, engineers, and nurses.
Duterte, however, would not speculate on the countries to which the labor ban could be expanded. (Philippine News Agency, ABC-CBN, GMA News/PN)
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