A dozen people have been found stuffed inside a closet-sized cell hidden behind a book shelf in a Philippine police station, triggering further alarm about abuse under President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs.
Members of the government’s human rights commission, accompanied by journalists, found the men and women in a surprise visit to the station in the heart of Manila’s slum area on Thursday evening.
Cries of “here we are, here we are” were heard from behind a wall, according to the rights workers and journalists. The rights workers then found a hidden door behind a bookshelf, leading to the cell.
Stunned detainees came stumbling out of the room, some begging for water while others, in tears, pleaded with the rights workers not to abandon them. They said they had been held for about a week after being arrested on allegations of drug use or trafficking and that police were demanding hefty payments in exchange for their freedom.
“They were picked up on the pretext of drugs but they had not filed any charges against them,” Gilbert Boisner, Manila director for the rights commission said.
