DOJ studies Frenchman’s asylum petition

The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked yesterday the French economist who has requested for refugee status and political asylum in the Philippines to submit evidence to support his petition.

According to the lawyers of Marc Cohen, an executive at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), some of the supplemental facts that the DOJ wants are those involving alleged harassment of his parents in Paris.

Cohen’s parents, both 75, were allegedly being threatened with charges of defamation and possible arrest because of the allegations he had made against French officials.

Cohen’s lawyers from the Roque and Butuyan law offices said that their client had elevated his case to the European court of human rights, a copy of which the DOJ also seeks to be furnished.

Lawyer Harry Roque said that for their part, they have requested the DOJ to grant Cohen the right of "non-refoulement" as an applicant for refugee status and asylum. This means the privilege to stay in the country and continue working pending the resolution of the application.

Cohen’s lawyers argued that under (Justice) Department Order 94, an applicant during the pendency of his application for a refugee status shall not be expelled or returned to a country if there are valid reasons to believe that his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.

They added that an applicant shall also not be punished on account of his illegal entry or presence in the country provided he presents himself without delay to the authorities and/or shows good cause for his illegal entry.

Earlier, Cohen’s lawyers also asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Manila to intervene and help him in his application.

This is the first time that a French national is seeking refugee status and asylum in the country.

Cohen’s passport expires on May 19 and his French consular registration, which previously entitled him to consular and diplomatic protection, has been canceled by the French embassy in Manila.

In his 60-page application, Cohen said he is neither a fugitive from justice nor a terrorist and that the French embassy could not justify the actions taken against him.

Cohen said his job is in jeopardy and his whole well-being threatened once he loses his passport and is deported to France. He would not only become unemployed but would be forced to give up custody of his son since he would no longer have the right to fight in court and take other legal recourse.

Cohen said his "statelessness" was brought about by his decision to fight against corruption, racial prejudice and administrative abuses of ranking French officials in the foreign affairs ministry and the judiciary.

He maintained that he never had a day in any French court and his defense was never heard during the battle for custody of his children. He claimed the French officials were being influenced to decide against him by the family of his former wife.

Cohen said that they were separated due to domestic problems and his wife’s drug addiction. But the issue had become far from domestic as French officials started his political persecution after he had gotten much support for his cause from various organizations in France and other parts of the world.