Philippines allows US to take custody of convicted US rapist

Dec 30, 2006, 6:24 GMT

Manila - The Philippine government succumbed to pressure from the United States and allowed the US Embassy to take custody of a US Marine convicted of rape without a court order, officials said Saturday.

US embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop confirmed the transfer late Friday of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith from the Makati City jail to the custody of the US Embassy.

'I can confirm that (Smith) has been transferred from Makati City jail back to the US military custody,' US Embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop told a local television station shortly after the transfer.

Lussenhop refused to give details about who authorized the transfer one hour before midnight on Friday, saying that he would leave it up to the Philippine government to explain.

Last week, the US announced the cancellation of joint military exercises with the Philippines due to the custody issue. Smith, 21, was convicted of rape on December 4.

The US Embassy said Smith's case had put into question the security of US servicemen participating in joint military exercises in the Philippines despite a visiting forces agreement (VFA) that was supposed to guarantee US custody in such incidents.

Smith has been detained at the Makati City jail in metropolitan Manila since he was convicted of raping a 23-year-old Filipino woman in Olongapo City, 90 kilometres north of Manila, in November 2005.

The US Embassy has demanded Smith's custody while his lawyers appealed his conviction, noting that the VFA provides for US custody until all judicial procedures are completed.

But the judge that convicted Smith insisted that the US Embassy could no longer have custody over him.

Smith's lawyers have raised the issue with the Court of Appeals, which has yet to issue a decision on the petition.

Smith was one of thousands of American soldiers who participated in a joint military exercises in the Philippines last year.

Smith's three co-accused - Lance Corporals Keith Silkwood and Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sergeant Chad Carpentier - were acquitted due to lack of evidence. They have already returned to their base in Okinawa, Japan.