URGENT ACTION
LIFE SENTENCE REDUCED TO 15 YEARS
Ronaldo Lopez Ulep has had his espionage conviction upheld on appeal in Qatar. His life sentence was reduced to 15 years’ imprisonment; he is expected to appeal.
Filipino national Ronaldo Ulep, a former civilian employee of Qatar’s air force, had his espionage conviction upheld by the Court of Appeal in the capital, Doha, on 31 May. The judge announced that his life sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison, but gave no explanation for this decision. Since the hearing was conducted in Arabic, without translation, Ronaldo Ulep misunderstood the judge’s announcement and believed that his sentence had been reduced to five years in prison. He did not learn of the 15-year sentence until he returned to the Central Prison in Doha. Amnesty International understands that a new appeal will be lodged at Qatar’s highest court, the Court of Cassation.
Following his arrest in 2010, Qatari security forces held Ronaldo Ulep incommunicado for about a month before they allowed him to contact his family. According to sources close to the case he was tortured during the first eight months he was detained. During two interrogation sessions officials burned his back and legs with cigarettes, and stripped him naked and forced him to crawl around on the floor until his knees bled. They punched and slapped him. They then forced him to sign a document in Arabic, which he could not read. It was later presented in court as a “confession” and was crucial in securing his conviction. To Amnesty International’s knowledge, the Qatari authorities have never denied these allegations. After sentencing, Ronaldo Ulep was moved to the Central Prison in Doha and has not been allowed to contact his family despite asking permission at least twice.
According to court documents, at his first trial Ronaldo Ulep told the court that his “confessions” had been extracted through torture. The Court of First Instance rejected this, citing a lack of evidence to support his allegations. The Court of Appeal did not address the issue, even though it was brought up before that court.
Please write immediately in English, Arabic or your own language:
n Urging the Qatari authorities to order a retrial of Ronaldo Ulep and ensure that no “evidence” obtained by torture is admitted in this or any other legal proceedings;
n Urging them to order an impartial, independent and effective investigation into Ronaldo Ulep’s allegations of torture and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice in fair proceedings;
n Asking them to ensure that Ronaldo Ulep is granted regular phone calls to his family, access to his lawyer and consular assistance.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 16 JULY 2015 TO:
Minister of Justice
Dr Hassan Lahdan Saqr Al-Mohannadi
Ministry of Justice
PO Box 917
Doha
State of Qatar
Fax: 011 974 44832875
Email:
Attorney General
Dr Ali bin Fetais Al Marri
PO Box 705
Doha, State of Qatar
Fax: 011 974 4484 3211
Email:
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Head of State (Amir of Qatar)
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
PO Box 923
Doha, State of Qatar
Fax: 011 974 4436 1212
UA Network Office AIUSA | 600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC 20003
T. 202.509.8193 | F. 202.546.7142 | E. | amnestyusa.org/urgent
Salutation: Your Excellency
Also send copies to:
Ambassador Mohammed Jaham Al Kuwari, Embassy of the State of Qatar
2555 M St NW , Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1 202 237 0061 I Phone: 1 202 274 1600 I Email:
Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact! EITHER send a short email to with "UA 95/15" in the subject line, and include in the body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent, OR fill out this short online form (press Ctrl + click on link) to let us know how you took action. Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office if sending appeals after the above date. This is the first update of UA 95/15. Further information: www.amnesty.org/en/documents/MDE22/1517/2015/en/
URGENT ACTION
LIFE SENTENCE REDUCED TO 15 YEARS
ADditional Information
Six officials from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) arrested Ronaldo Ulep at his home in Doha on 7 April 2010. He subsequently spent four years in solitary confinement at the State Security Bureau in Doha. A Court of First Instance in Doha convicted him on 30 April 2014 of “selling information about his employer”, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. His appeal began on 26 May 2014 and took place over six sessions; some of these lasted as little as 15 minutes and no translation service was provided.
Two other Filipino nationals were put on trial with Ronaldo Ulep, and appealed alongside him. They were arrested in March and April 2010 respectively and they too are understood to have been held in solitary confinement in the State Security Bureau until their trial. Both have alleged that “confessions” presented in court were extracted through torture. One of the men was sentenced to death in May 2014, the other to life imprisonment. These sentences were reduced on appeal on 31 May 2015 to life imprisonment and 15 years in prison respectively.
Amnesty International has twice written to the Qatari authorities to raise the case – in September 2014 and in January 2015 - but has received no response. The organization has also raised the case with the Philippines Embassy in Doha and the Qatari National Human Rights Committee. Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee appears not to have raised human rights concerns in this case.
The case was included in a submission by Amnesty International to the 29th session of the UN Human Rights Council in response to the annual report of the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Gabriela Knaul, who will present her findings of a recent mission to Qatar to the Council this month.
In recent years, Amnesty International has received reports of torture or other ill-treatment being used to force detainees to “confess” or provide information. This is mainly done before detainees are charged, particularly during periods of incommunicado detention by State Security. Activists in Qatar have raised concerns that State Security personnel, generally operating in plain clothes, do not identify themselves when carrying out arrests and have been holding detainees in police detention centres rather than State Security-run facilities. Their aim appears to be to deny responsibility for carrying out particular arrests and detentions and thereby to deflect criticism of their actions.
Name: Ronaldo Ulep (m)
Issues: Unfair trial, Torture/ill-treatment, Legal concern
Further information on UA: 95/15 (24 April 2015)
Issue Date: 4 June 2015
Country: Qatar
UA Network Office AIUSA | 600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Washington DC 20003
T. 202.509.8193 | F. 202.546.7142 | E. | amnestyusa.org/urgent