A/HRC/44/22 Annex I Illustrative cases – victims’ voices The following three cases of alleged extrajudicial killings illustrate some of the key issues highlighted in the report. The stories were compiled through interviews with victims and witnesses, family members, as well as a review of official documentation and videos to corroborate information. In all the cases, there is a need for thorough, impartial and transparent investigations. Benjamin Ramos – human rights lawyer After more than 30 years of defending the rights of farmers in Negros, multiple threats, frequent red-tagging and surveillance, attorney Benjamin Ramos was shot dead on 6 November 2018. Two hooded assassins on a motorbike fired three bullets into the victim in Kabankalan city centre on Negros Island. CCTV footage captured the motorcycle speeding away. The Presidential spokesperson condemned the killing, pledging to bring to justice the perpetrators. To date, however, there has been no justice for his family, and Ramos’ colleagues continue to face threats and vilification. Benjamin Ramos was one of the most active lawyers and human rights defenders on Negros island. He started his work as a community organizer in the 1980s and was a founding member of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) and the secretarygeneral of its Negros Occidental chapter. Witnessing the difficulties that the Negros sugar plantation farmers faced, he was determined to work towards improving their socioeconomic situation, his wife Clarissa Ramos told OHCHR. He worked on various issues related to the State’s agrarian reform programme, land ownership, mining and the situation of sugar workers, among others. “Through his community work, Ben quickly realized that if the farmers did not possess the land – the whole effort is futile. He became interested in the agrarian reform and decided to pursue legal studies in order to deepen his understanding of the law. He felt that this knowledge would help the farmers to assert their rights”, explained Clarissa Ramos, herself a human rights defender. Benjamin Ramos’ legal advocacy and pro bono work with the Negros communities quickly earned him powerful enemies, including landowners, mining corporations, and military officers. Over the decades, Ramos frequently faced surveillance and was increasingly publicly accused by the military of being affiliated with the NPA. His name was aired on a radio programme, telling listeners not to seek legal advice from him as he was a front for the NPA. His picture appeared on a poster along with other rights defenders tagged as CPP-NPA-NDF personalities, and he was similarly maligned in PowerPoint presentations conducted by the military. Over the years, Ramos also lost several of his NUPL colleagues to assassinations, and he himself on occasion was followed by motorcycle-riding men, his wife said. In October 2018, after nine sugar workers were killed in Sagay City, Negros Occidental, Ramos took up the case. Two weeks later, Ramos himself was killed. Despite the availability of CCTV footage and numerous witnesses to the circumstances of Ramos’ assassination, there remains widespread fear to assist police with the investigation, Clarissa Ramos said. “If they can kill a lawyer – imagine what they can do to a lay person?” one witness said in an interview with OHCHR. Following his death, Ramos’ family and colleagues were subjected to further acts of surveillance, threats, and intimidation, including credible reports suggesting the involvement of military intelligence. Two of his colleagues were sent photos of coffins, warning they would be next. Ramos is survived by his three children and his wife. “I will continue to pursue justice for my husband through all available venues, both in the Philippines and internationally”, Clarissa Ramos said. 20