At least 11 people have been found in a tiny dark room hidden behind a bookcase in a Philippine police station.<\/p>\n
The captives were discovered during a raid by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), following a tip-off.<\/p>\n
The undocumented prisoners said they had been there for a week, and alleged police at the Manila station had locked them up in order to extort money.<\/p>\n
But officers said they were arrested as part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.<\/p>\n
Mr Duterte has launched a brutal crackdown across the country, leading to the deaths of more than 7,000 suspected dealers, killed by police or vigilante groups.<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands have also been arrested since the it was launched last year.<\/p>\n
Superintendent Robert Domingo told local media the captives discovered on Thursday had been rounded up during a “one-time, big-time” raid, and had no documents because they were still being processed.<\/p>\n
But local media – who appear to have been invited along to film the CHR raid – reported that many of the people inside the windowless room said they were innocent, and were being asked to pay between P40,000 and P200,000 ($800-$3,990\/\u00a3609-\u00a33,095) for their release, according to figures released by ABS-CBN<\/a>.<\/p>\n They also made allegations of torture, and told how the room had no electricity and they were forced to use plastic bags instead of a toilet.<\/p>\n Supt Domingo denied all the allegations, telling The Inquirer <\/a>that the 1m x 3m room was “such a waste of space”.<\/p>\n “Why should I not maximize it?” he added.<\/p>\n CHR spokesperson Jackie De Guia said they would continue to investigate what had happened in the police station, noting to GMA Network<\/a>: “No normal detention facility is kept behind equipment such as bookshelves.”<\/p>\n Source bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"