Judge stops torture hearings

Judge stops torture hearings

MANILA (Reuter): A Philippine judge yesterday stopped two U.S.
lawyers from gathering evidence from Filipino victims of human-
rights abuses during the rule of the late president Ferdinand
Marcos.

Judge Martin Villarama issued a restraining order temporarily
suspending the hearings being conducted by the Americans after
President Fidel Ramos's government protested that they violated
Philippine sovereignty.

Villarama set a hearing for Nov. 2 to decide whether to order
a permanent halt to the proceedings.

"In order to maintain the status quo, the court in the
interest of justice resolves to issue a temporary restraining
order effective within a period of 20 days," his order said.