Geneva, June 27, 2025—A handwritten letter by journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, who has been detained in the Philippines for more than five years without a conviction, was read out at the United Nations headquarters by U.N. special envoy Irene Khan, who called the 26-year-old’s prolonged detention “a travesty of justice.”
It was the first time that Cumpio’s words have been heard outside her prison cell in Tacloban City in the eastern Philippines. Cumpio was arrested in February 2020 and later charged over illegal possession of firearms and terrorism financing.
She faces up to 40 years in prison if found guilty.
“How do we even combat a well-orchestrated lie? A story that’s so absurd that if this was a class debate, you wouldn’t even try to rebut,” Cumpio said in her letter, which Khan read on Tuesday at a U.N. Human Rights Council side event about freedom of expression in the Philippines, co-hosted by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Cumpio’s letter was hand-carried to Khan in Geneva from the Philippines by CPJ’s Asia-Pacific
director Beh Lih Yi. Ronalyn Olea, secretary-general of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) was also present when the letter was handed over.
Khan, the U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, called for Cumpio’s release at the U.N. on Tuesday and in her report to the UNHRC last week.
In 2024, the U.N. expert made an official visit to Cumpio and her co-accused Marielle Domequil, a church lay worker, in prison.
“She has been languishing in prison for five years, waiting for a trial for five years — that to me is a travesty of justice,” Khan said on Tuesday. “We need to stand with the Frenchies of this world.”
CPJ and the NUJP are part of the international #FreeFrenchieMaeCumpio coalition which includes the media rights groups AlterMidya, Reporters Without Borders, and Free Press Unlimited. The coalition was denied a joint prison visit to Cumpio in Tacloban City on June 16, with authorities citing documentary requirements.
Below is the extract from Cumpio’s letter read out by Khan:
“A lot has happened over a year [since Khan met Cumpio]. Marielle and I have already testified in court. I was presented three times. I am pleased to tell you that our lawyers have really exerted all of their efforts for our testimony.
Despite that I have to admit that nothing can really prepare you for your own trial.
At first, it felt like I didn’t really have anything to say. How do we even combat a well-orchestrated lie? A story that’s so absurd that if this was a class debate, you wouldn’t even try to rebut.
But after my testimony, I realised I still had a lot to say. That this more than five years of detention is robbing us of so many things — time, family, dreams, plans, future.
People call us brave for holding on, although I would have to admit I sometimes feel otherwise.
The truth is that what happened to us still happens to several others. The fact that they are capable of charging us through mere lies. The fear that we still won’t be safe even when we’re out of this facility.
I am never an ‘in between’ person. I am usually sure where I stand. But today, now that we’re almost near the end, I feel uncertain. And uncertainty bothers you in bed.
Nonetheless, we hold on.
Your visit last year has made a huge impact on how people perceive our case.
Thank you for amplifying our woes. Nothing is braver than fighting for those who are uncertain – the economically challenged, those who continue to suffer from discrimination, or people like us who are locked behind bars.”
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.