PH Embassy Facilitates Repatriation of Six Filipino Seafarers Acquitted of Drug Charges
Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migration Affairs Eduardo José A. de Vega and Ambassador Henry S. Bensurto Jr. meeting with penitentiary officials on 13 June 2024 (Embassy photo)
ANKARA 07 October 2024 -- The Philippine Embassy in Ankara facilitated the repatriation of six Filipino seafarers acquitted of drug trafficking charges in Türkiye. The Filipinos spent over 11 months in detention before they were finally acquitted and declared innocent by the Ereğli Criminal Court on 16 September 2024.
Upon the instructions of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary for Migration Affairs Eduardo José A. de Vega to extend assistance for the repatriation of the six Filipinos within all possible means, the Embassy team, led by Ambassador Henry S. Bensurto Jr., and the Philippine Consulate General in Istanbul, led by Consul General Shirlene C. Mananquil, were at the Istanbul Airport to ensure that the six Filipinos were in good condition and able to board their flight back to the Philippines.
“We are very happy that the Court declared the Filipinos innocent of the charges and that they have been released in time to spend Christmas with their families back home,” said Ambassador Bensurto.
The Embassy made representations to ensure the freedom of the Filipinos so that when they board their flight, as free men, they did not have any have handcuffs as they have not violated any laws of any country.
In October 2023, the six (6) Filipinos together with four (4) senior officers onboard the Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel, Phoenician M, were arrested for drug trafficking while the ship was docked in the Ereğli Port in Zonguldak, located in the Black Sea region of Türkiye.
Through the Legal Assistance Fund (LAF) of the DFA, the Embassy hired a lawyer to ensure that the rights of the Filipinos were protected and that due process was observed.
Together with the Embassy-hired lawyers and lawyers provided by the insurance company of the manning agency, Embassy representatives attended all three (3) court hearings in June, July, and September 2024.
The Embassy regularly visited the seafarers while they were detained and provided them with clothes, photos of their families, The Daily Gospel, and financial and welfare assistance through the Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) Fund of the DFA. The Embassy also provided regular updates to the family members of the seafarers during this ordeal.
As part of the official visit of DFA Undersecretary de Vega to Türkiye in June 2024, he visited the seafarers in the penitentiary to check on their welfare. He also met with his counterpart from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the penitentiary authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of the Filipinos in Türkiye.
The Philippine Embassy in Ankara remains commited to the mandate of the Department of Foreign Affairs to protect the rights and promote the welfare of Filipinos abroad. END.
Ambassador Henry S. Bensurto Jr. meeting with the Cavus & Coskunsu Law Firm, counsel of the seafarers, on 30 April 2024 (Embassy photo)
Ambassador Henry S. Bensurto Jr. and the Embassy team meeting with the Embassy-hired lawyers, Atty. Laçin Köktürk and Atty. Zeynep Köktürk on 02 August 2024 (Embassy photo)
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