Marine Ordered to Philippine Custody

[unhappycamper]

Marine Ordered to Philippine Custody
February 11, 2009
Agence France-Presse

A U.S. Marine convicted of raping a Filipina must be transferred from detention at the U.S. embassy in Manila to a Philippine-run facility, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

The country's high court said in a statement it had ordered Manila to negotiate with the U.S. authorities for an "appropriate agreement on detention facilities under Philippine authorities" for Lance Corporal Daniel Smith.

In 2006 Smith was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in jail for raping a Filipina after he took part in military exercises north of Manila in 2005.

His conviction prompted Washington to threaten calling off large-scale military exercises with Manila until Smith was transferred to U.S. detention.

After Smith filed an appeal against his conviction, he was moved out of a local jail and transferred to a facility inside the U.S. embassy compound on Manila Bay.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/marine-ordered-to-philippine-custody.html?col=1186032310810