The Inter-Parliamentary Union is alarmed at the continuing detention of Congressman Crispin Beltran of the Philippines. Along with five other opposition parliamentarians, Mr. Beltran has been charged with rebellion and, unlike his colleagues, he has been detained.

The IPU has expressed deep concern at the charges held against him and has called for his release. Following a mission of the IPU and its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to Manila in April this year, the Government stated publicly that it would no longer oppose Mr. Beltran's release.

Moreover, on Friday 1st June, the Supreme Court of the Philippines dismissed the charges against Mr. Beltran and his colleagues. However, in spite of all this, Mr. Beltran has remained in detention.

The IPU strongly urges the authorities of the Philippines to honour their undertaking not to oppose Mr. Beltran's release.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 147 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations. In 1976, it created the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians. The Committee meets in camera four times a year to ensure that the human rights of the world's parliamentary community - composed of more than 40'000 members - are respected. It has contributed to the settlement of a large number of over the 500 cases in more than 100 countries that it has examined since its creation.
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Contact for additional information or interviews:

Mrs. Luisa Ballin, IPU Information Officer 5, ch. du Pommier, CH - 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva Phone: +41 22 919 41 16 Fax: +41 22 919 41 60 E-mail: lb@mail.ipu.org or cbl@mail.ipu.org Mrs. Ingeborg Schwarz, Programme Manager of the IPU Human Rights Programme 5, ch. du Pommier, CH - 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex / Geneva Phone: +41 22 919 41 42 E-mail: is@mail.ipu.org