Primary suspect in Demafelis murder now in custody of Lebanon: DFA

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte pays his last respects to the late Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) Joanna Demafelis as the President visits the wake at their residence in Barangay Anoring, Iloilo on February 22, 2018. Joining the President are the late OFW’s parents Crisanto and Ana Demafelis and Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence Go. RICHARD MADELO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA– The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Friday night that one of the the principal suspects in the murder of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) Joanna Demafelis in Kuwait is now in the custody of authorities in Lebanon.

DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said he has informed President Rodrigo R. Duterte about the arrest of Nader Essam Assaf, a Lebanese national, who together with his wife, Mona, a Syrian national, are tagged principal suspects in the brutal torture and murder of the 29-year-old domestic helper from Sara, Iloilo.

“The President welcomes the news that Nader Essam Assaf is now in the hands of authorities in Lebanon,” Cayetano said in a statement. “Assaf’s arrest is a critical first step in our quest for justice for Joanna and we are thankful to our friends in Kuwait and Lebanon for their assistance.”

The Philippine Embassy in Kuwait reported the arrest of Assaf to Manila the same day the chief executive visited the wake of Demefelis and assured her family that the goverment will seek justice for her and other OFWs abused by their employers abroad.

The DFA said Assaf and his wife have been the subject of an Interpol manhunt after Kuwaiti authorities discovered early this month the battered body of Demafelis inside a freezer in the couple’s abandoned apartment unit more than a year after her family reported her missing.

Kuwaiti authorities conveyed the arrest of Assaf to Ambassador Renato Villa during a meeting at the Ministry of Interior on Thursday. 

In the meeting, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Al-Tarah, assistant undersecretary for General Security Affairs, disclosed to Villa that Interpol Lebanon had notified Interpol Kuwait that Assaf is now in custody but that his wife is still at large and is believed to be in Syria.

The arrest of Assaf came several days after Cayetano was assured by Kuwaiti Ambassador Mousaed Al-Thwaikh that Kuwaiti authorities will do everything they can to find the suspects and bring them to justice.

Cayetano said he expects Kuwaiti authorities to request the extradition of Assaf so he could stand trial in Kuwait.

From his end, Cayetano said that in response to the Demafelis murder, both the DFA and the Department of Labor and Employment would work together to carry out the President’s instructions to ensure that Filipino migrant workers are adequately protected in host countries abroad.