Woman human rights defender Myrna Cruz-Abraham pleads not guilty on ‘frustrated’ murder allegation
On 21 February 2025, woman human rights defender Myrna Cruz-Abraham pleaded not guilty in a ‘frustrated’ murder case, which dates back to 2007, during her arraignment process at the Appari Regional Trial Court Branch 09, Cagayan province. Myrna’s pretrial has been rescheduled for 7 March 2025. During the hearing, the court is expected to assess the admissibility of evidence, witness testimonies, and other procedural matters before moving forward with the trial.
On 4 Februrary 2025, woman human rights defender Myrna “Micah” Cruz-Abraham posted bail after enduring eight days in detention. She had been arbitrarily arrested in connection to a ‘frustrated murder’ case dating back to 2007, processed at the Appari Regional Trial Court Branch 09. The detention coincided with her 70th birthday, on 30 January 2025, which she spent behind bars and away from family and fellow activists.
Myrna “Micah” Cruz-Abraham is a woman human rights defender who has worked for decades to defend the rights of the most marginalised communities in the Philippines, including women, workers, indigenous peoples, and farmers. Myrna also worked with Center for Women’s Resources and the Institute for Religion and Culture, establishing the Women’s Center which became pivotal in the training and education of women workers in Metro Manila since 1983. In 2017, the woman human rights defender joined Sandiwa, a network that advocates for the rights of national minorities and indigenous peoples. In particular, Sandiwa has advocated for the rights of Moro communities, specially their right to self-determination, ancestral lands and territories. They also supported the Lumad Bakwit School in Manila from 2017 to 2019. As a result of her work, she has faced reprisals, mostly from state actors.
On 21 February 2025, woman human rights defender Myrna Cruz-Abraham pleaded not guilty in a ‘frustrated’ murder case, which dates back to 2007, during her arraignment process at the Appari Regional Trial Court Branch 09, Cagayan province. Myrna’s pretrial has been rescheduled for 7 March 2025. During the hearing, the court is expected to assess the admissibility of evidence, witness testimonies, and other procedural matters before moving forward with the trial.
Myrna Cruz-Abraham was arrested at the Massway Supermarket in San Rafael, Bulacan, on 27 January 2025. Shortly after her arrest, she was red-tagged. The Quezon City Police District issued a press release about the “successful operation”. Her arrest followed months of surveillance and online red-tagging, where she was accused of being a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). Detained in a cramped cell at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) inside Camp Karingal, Myrna Cruz-Abraham faced intimidation from police personnel and unidentified individuals posing as acquaintances. These individuals addressed her using the aliases listed in the case against her.
On 4 Februrary 2025, woman human rights defender Myrna “Micah” Cruz-Abraham posted bail after enduring eight days in detention. She had been arbitrarily arrested in connection to a ‘frustrated murder’ case dating back to 2007, processed at the Appari Regional Trial Court Branch 09. The detention coincided with her 70th birthday, on 30 January 2025, which she spent behind bars and away from family and fellow activists.
Myrna “Micah” Cruz-Abraham is a woman human rights defender who has worked for decades to defend the rights of the most marginalised communities in the Philippines, including women, workers, indigenous peoples, and farmers. Myrna also worked with Center for Women’s Resources and the Institute for Religion and Culture, establishing the Women’s Center which became pivotal in the training and education of women workers in Metro Manila since 1983. In 2017, the woman human rights defender joined Sandiwa, a network that advocates for the rights of national minorities and indigenous peoples. In particular, Sandiwa has advocated for the rights of Moro communities, specially their right to self-determination, ancestral lands and territories. They also supported the Lumad Bakwit School in Manila from 2017 to 2019. As a result of her work, she has faced reprisals, mostly from state actors.
On the morning of 27 January 2025, Myrna Cruz-Abraham was approached by a personnel of the Directorate for Investigation and Detection Management (DIDM) of the Philippine National Police (PNP), while she was grocery-shopping with her daughter and grandchild at the Massway Supermarket. The DIDM-PNP personnel claimed that a criminal case had been filed against her, and eight plainclothed personnel escorted Myrna, including her daughter and grandson into a vehicle. At around 10:00 AM, they were brought to the San Rafael Police Station, where the arrest warant was read to Myrna Cruz-Abraham. Later, on January 29 2025, the Quezon City Police District Director announced that the arrest of Myrna Cruz-Abraham was carried out by members of the Quezon City Police and other PNP units, including the 16th Intelligence and Security Unit of the Philippine Army, stemming from months-long surveillance and red-tagging her on social media as a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
Woman human rights defender Myrna Cruz-Abraham was later transferred to, and detained in, Camp Karingal, Quezon City despite her alarming health condition, confirmed by a mandatory medical check-up at the Quezon City General Hospital, which revealed an elevated blood preassure reading of 160/80, which would already qualify her for stage 2 hypertension. Her arraignment is scheduled for 21 February 2025.
Myrna Cruz-Abraham’s arrest was linked to a case for which she had been falsely accused almost 15 years ago. On 22 March 2010, then aged 55 years old, the woman human rights defender was abducted, reported missing and found the next day at the Bureau of Jails and Management Penology (BJMP) in Tuguegarao City. At the time of the abduction, she was blindfolded, handcuffed, and thrown into a van by her abductors. It was later revealed that her abductors were policemen, according to an urgent action alert issued by the organisation Karapatan. Myrna Cruz-Abraham was then repeatedly interrogated at a military intelligence safe house and forced to confess to a murder case she did not commit in Amulong, Cagayan on 23 October 2002. She was then transferred to the BJMP detention facility on 23 March 2010. Three bags, ID cards, credit cards, an ATM card, a flash drive and hard drive were taken from her. In addition, the authorities reportedly planted two grenades in her bag, which were then used as evidence against her by the 17 Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army. She was subsequently charged with murder and violation of the election period gun ban. After nine months in detention, the case was finally dismissed for lack of evidence, and she was released on 23 December 2010.
Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the arrest and subsequent detention of woman human rights defender Mynra Cruz-Abraham. Front Line Defenders believes that this may be a case of retaliation for her human rights work and is concerned that she is facing continuous judicial persecution linked to previous false criminal charges brought against her.
Front Line Defenders remains extremely concerned about the widespread practice in the Philippines of red-tagging of HRDs. This involves the false labelling of activists, human rights defenders and journalists as insurgents or supporters of communist groups, especially the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the CPP. Individuals who are red-tagged frequently experience severe threats, harassment and even death, and many cases remain unprosecuted.
Front Line Defenders calls on the Philippine government to:
- Immediately drop all charges against woman human rights defender Myrna “Micah” Cruz-Abraham as it is believed that they are solely motivated by her legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights.
- Cease the practice of red-tagging. This has been utilised on a consistent and deliberate basis as a means of targeting human rights defenders.
- Guarantee in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions, including judicial harassment and ‘red-tagging’.
