Kim Meunier
MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 14, 2013) – Philippine immigration authorities have detained a 24-year old Canadian student for allegedly joining political activists during President Benigno Aquino’s State of the Nation Address in July, a Filipino human rights group Karapatan said on Saturday.
It said Kim Meunier, is being held in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. Meunier was supposed to fly to Hong Kong on Saturday night.
Karapatan, which condemned the arrest of the Canadian student, said she just observed the program of the rally during the State of the Nation in Manila.
Kim was a delegate to the International Conference on Human Rights in the Philippines held in July. She also joined the international solidarity and humanitarian mission in Quezon Province prior to the conference.
The human rights group said Meunier was primarily in the Philippines for her internship to meet the requirements for the international studies program of the University of Montreal.
It said the foreigner is also blacklisted by the Bureau if Immigration. “We call on the Bureau of Immigration to immediately release Kim and allow her to go home to Canada. We likewise demand that such blacklists or watch lists should be withdrawn or scrapped by the Bureau of Immigration, as these are tools for harassment and suppression of fundamental rights,” Karapatan said.
Meunier was the second foreigner detained by the Bureau of Immigration for allegedly joining the rally. Dutch activist Thomas van Beersum was also arrested and deported after he berated a policeman during the SONA rally he joined. (Mindanao Examiner)
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