'Justice is served,' Bello says of Demafelis murder case
By CJ Juntereal
Published Sep 10, 2019 05:08 pm
By Leslie Aquino
The conviction by a Syrian court of the employer of slain Filipino household worker Joanna Demafelis elated Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III
(Keith Bacongco / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) "We are elated by reports that the female employer of Joanna has been convicted. We believe justice has been served on the gruesome death of our OFW,” Bello said in a statement. He added: “Justice is served.” The labor chief said they were thankful to the government of Syria that their brand of justice was accorded to poor Joanna and her family. According to reports, Demafelis’ employer, Syrian Mouna Ali Hassoun, was found guilty of premeditated murder by a court of first instance in Damascus sometime last month. Once sentencing is rendered, Hassoun will be meted a minimum of eight years to a maximum of 15 years in prison pursuant to Syrian penal laws. Along with her Labanese husband, Nader Assad, they were arrested in Syria by the International Police in late February 2018, and were sentenced by a Kuwaiti court in absentia and meted the death penalty by hanging. They were believed to have fled Kuwait for Syria about a year before the frozen body of Demafelis was found. The discovery of the crime prompted President Duterte to order the labor secretary to impose a total ban on the deployment of workers to Kuwait. The ban has been lifted a few months after.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III(Keith Bacongco / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) "We are elated by reports that the female employer of Joanna has been convicted. We believe justice has been served on the gruesome death of our OFW,” Bello said in a statement. He added: “Justice is served.” The labor chief said they were thankful to the government of Syria that their brand of justice was accorded to poor Joanna and her family. According to reports, Demafelis’ employer, Syrian Mouna Ali Hassoun, was found guilty of premeditated murder by a court of first instance in Damascus sometime last month. Once sentencing is rendered, Hassoun will be meted a minimum of eight years to a maximum of 15 years in prison pursuant to Syrian penal laws. Along with her Labanese husband, Nader Assad, they were arrested in Syria by the International Police in late February 2018, and were sentenced by a Kuwaiti court in absentia and meted the death penalty by hanging. They were believed to have fled Kuwait for Syria about a year before the frozen body of Demafelis was found. The discovery of the crime prompted President Duterte to order the labor secretary to impose a total ban on the deployment of workers to Kuwait. The ban has been lifted a few months after.