My husband is illegally detained, Lim’s wife insists

The wife of suspected coup plotter Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim filed a petition before the courts claiming her husband has been illegally detained by the military without being charged.

In a six-page petition, Aloysia Lim urged the Court of Appeals to determine the legality of Lim’s detention at the maximum security compound at the Army’s Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal.

Through lawyer Vicente Verdadero, the general’s wife filed the petition before the Court of Appeals’ (CA’s) 16th Division chaired by Associate Justice Fernanda Lampas-Peralta.

Lim pointed out that since her husband has not been charged in court, he cannot be detained or confined to the barracks.

"Even if Brig. Gen. Lim were formally charged, the same would not justify his detention in a maximum security prison in Camp Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal," she said in her petition.

Mrs. Lim argued Article 70 of the Articles of War "prohibit the confinement or arrest of a military personnel in the absence of a formal charge."

Mrs. Lim said her husband’s detention is illegal since the general has yet to be formally charged. Lim has been detained following his alleged involvement in the foiled Feb. 24 coup attempt.

"The arrest and detention of Brig. Gen. Lim is illegal and is therefore correctible by the great writ of habeas corpus," Mrs. Lim said.

She cited the hearing last July 18 where the government argued that charges have been prepared against Lim after an investigation has been conducted by a panel of Army investigators.

Prosecutors also argued the mere act of preparing the charge sheet against Lim effectively constituted the filing of charges.

Mrs. Lim said Article 71 of the Articles of War provides that no charge will be referred to a general court-martial until after a thorough pre-trial investigation has been conducted.

She said the procedure will enable her husband to have the full opportunity to face his accusers.

Considering the number of officers and men to be subjected to pre-trial investigation, the investigation would also take considerable time to conclude, Mrs. Lim said.

A total of 165 officers and soldiers are facing criminal charges for alleged involvement in the coup plot.

The soldiers include 15 Marines, 25 Army officers and as many as 125 servicemen, who will be investigated after they were named by a military panel.

The 165 men were named in a report from the panel submitted to Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz last Wednesday. They could face charges and court martial for the plot that prompted President Arroyo to declare a week-long state of emergency.

The military said the officers and servicemen in the report have all been relieved of their posts in elite military units and put under the custody of their service commanders while they undergo a pre-trial investigation leading to a court-martial.

Aside from Lim, among the ranking officers facing possible court martial are former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and Marine Col. Arnel Querubin.