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MANILA – A 3-month-old baby separated from his detained mother has died, amid calls from his family and activists to allow them to reunite.
According to KAPATID and advocates for the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, the baby died before 9 p.m. Friday night, hours after NUPL’s lawyers asked a Manila court to allow his mother to see him. your son.
NUPL’s attorneys raced against time to reunite 23-year-old political detainee Queen Mae Nasino and baby River.
“The baby is gone. There are no words that can capture this human tragedy. Heartbreaking doesn’t even come close to that. What kind of justice system, indeed, society do we have to allow this inhumanity and injustice to the mother and the boy?” NUPL Secretary General Edre Olalia said.
“Not only have we lost our hearts, we have lost our souls if we don’t feel the pain and anger.”
An urgent motion was presented to the Manila regional trial court on Friday afternoon to allow Nasino to spend time with River, who was in intensive care at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) fighting a bacterial infection.
The baby’s doctors said her lungs were “rapidly deteriorating” and that she was “no longer responding to medications and could expire at any time,” according to the motion.
KAPATID, Gabriela, NUPL urge the Supreme Court to allow political detainee Queen Mae Nasino to spend time with a sick baby who has just been brought to the PGH ICU. Baby River was rushed to PGH on September 24 due to pneumonia. No motion has yet been made. https://t.co/dDtH8sAqZq
– Mike Navallo (@mikenavallo) October 9, 2020
Nasino, who faces charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives, gave birth to River on July 1 at Dr. José Fabella Memorial Hospital, 8 months after her arrest at Bagong Alyansang Makabayan office in Tondo, Manila. , in November 2019.
At just 5.5 pounds, River weighed less than the average baby.
NUPL, Nasino’s lawyer, tried to keep the mother and baby together by asking a Manila court to allow them to stay together for 12 months, first in hospital and then in Manila city jail.
But both attempts failed, and a separate petition to the Supreme Court for the release of sick and elderly prisoners fearing a coronavirus outbreak inside congested prisons was unsuccessful, and the higher court left the matter for the lower courts to decide. .
On August 23, the baby was given to his grandmother.
On September 24, she was rushed to the HGP after experiencing diarrhea and was treated as a suspect for COVID, according to the motion.
Later, River was diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Her condition worsened, prompting doctors to transfer her to the ICU.
On Friday, October 9, her pediatrician gave the baby only a few hours to live, according to court records.
Nasino’s lawyer attributed the baby’s poor health to a lack of breast milk, which they said is an indivisible right of the girl.
“With all due respect, the Honorable Court is urged to extend the kindness and compassion that was denied to the author and her baby when they were hastily separated and deprived of their basic right to breastfeeding,” Nasino’s attorneys pleaded.
They added that Nasino, who has maintained that the charges against him are fabricated and politically motivated, was not a flight risk and had no intention of fleeing. It was also willing to submit to the necessary security protocols and procedures.
Apart from NUPL, KAPATID and Gabriela have joined the calls for Nasino’s release.
“Nasino is one of hundreds of political prisoners deprived of justice and liberty for fighting for the rights of the masses,” Gabriela said in a statement, addressing the appeal to both the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice.
Queen Mae Nasino, Political Prisoners, Supreme Court, KAPATID, Marites Asis, Manila City Prison, Manila Regional Court of First Instance, Baby River
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