The mayor of a small Philippine town, the main suspect in the November massacre of 57 people in the country's troubled south, pleaded not guilty to murder charges today.
Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr, wearing handcuffs and flanked by armed security officials, sat quietly as a court employee read 41 murder charges against him at a clubhouse turned into a courtroom inside Manila's main police camp.
State prosecutors are readying 16 more murder cases against Mr Ampatuan Jr to cover each of the 57 people killed, including 30 journalists, some of whom were found in shallow, hastily dug graves in southern Maguindanao province.
Most of the victims were on their way to an election office to witness the filing of nomination papers for a member of the Ampatuans' rival political clan when about 100 armed men attacked their convoy.
Weeks after the massacre, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo imposed martial law in Maguindanao province to disband the Ampatuan's private army and arrest the clan's patriarch, his brother and three sons, suspected to have had a hand in the killings.
All five are currently under military and police custody on the southern Mindanao island.
A lawyer for Mr Ampatuan Jr sought bail for his client, arguing the government has no sufficient proof to hold him.
But Jovencito Zuno, chief state prosecutor, told reporters he was confident the court would throw out the bail petition because the cases against Mr Ampatuan Jr were "air tight".
Dozens of armed police and members of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) stood guard inside the courtroom as lawyers, journalists and families of the massacre victims sat just a few yards away from Me Ampatuan Jr.
"We hope for a speedy trial and swift justice for the death of my husband," said Myrna Reblando, wife of one of 30 journalists who died.
Reuters