https://philnews.

ph/2018/02/10/family-joanna-demafelis-ofw-dead-inside-freezer/

JOANNA DEMAFELIS – The family of Joanna Demafelis, the overseas Filipino

worker who was found dead inside a freezer in an apartment in Kuwait, broke
their silence on the hurtful incident.

Recently, a news about an OFW in Kuwait left many Filipinos shocked and
saddened. Based on a report, a dead body has been found inside a freezer in an
apartment in Kuwait and the body was identified as the remains of a Pinay
domestic helper named Joanna Daniella Demafelis.
According to the report, Joanna works for a Lebanese man and a Syrian woman
who have allegedly abandoned their apartment after the man was issued a
warrant of arrest in 2016.

Reportedly, Joanna Demafelis’ friend last saw the Pinay domestic helper last
September 2016. The Pinay witness claimed that Joanna told her that her
employers are hurting her and her salary is delayed.

 
 Facebook: Daniela Demafelis
Recently, on social media, a live interview of the Aksyon Radyo in Iloilo with the
family of Joanna Demafelis was posted. The domestic helper is a native of Sara,
Iloilo.

Based on the post, Joanna went to Manila after she graduated from Sara National
High School to work. Her family claimed that it was in 2014 when she went to
Kuwait and she was able to communicate with them on her first three months in
abroad.
In 2016, the Pinay domestic helper called her sibling, Juliet, in Manila and informed
her sibling that she will extend her contract for one year.
Joanna Demafelis’ sister sought the help of the Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration (OWWA) when the Pinay domestic helper was not able to
communicate with her family.

Facebook: Aksyonradyo Iloilo

Based on the post, a representative of OWWA reached out to the family of Joanna
in Sara yesterday and explained that they have followed-up the complaints of the
family but the agency that sent her to Kuwait was already closed.
The government will shoulder the expenses in getting the remains of Joanna
Demafelis back to the Philippines. OWWA PIO Jack Arroyo also expressed that the
government will shoulder the expenses in case they would file a case.

http://ofwonline.info/nahuli-narin-sawakas-supect-sa-pagpatay-sa-ofw-kuwait-
joanna-demafelis-nasa-custody-na-sa-lebanon/

The employers of a Filipina maid found dead in a freezer in Kuwait have been
arrested in the Syrian capital Damascus after a manhunt lasting several
weeks.
Joanna Demafelis, 29, was found frozen in her employers' apartment more than a year
after she was reported missing.

Both Nader Essam Assaf and his Syrian wife Mona are being held on suspicion of
murder, officials said on Saturday.

Mr Assaf, who is a Lebanese national, was transferred to Beirut but his wife remains in
custody in Damascus.

On Saturday, a Lebanese judicial official said the couple had left Kuwait and made a
"very brief stopover" in Lebanon before travelling on the neighbouring Syria.

"Lebanon has asked Kuwait to pass on [Mr Assaf's] police record," the official added.

Ms Demafelis's death prompted outrage in the Philippines and a ban on Filipinos

travelling to work in Kuwait.

Both suspects became the subject of an international manhunt aided by Interpol.

Philippines foreign secretary Alan Peter Cayetano welcomed the news of the arrests,
calling it a "critical first step in our quest for justice for Joanna".
 Philippines stops workers going to Kuwait
 Singaporeans jailed for starving maid
 The country training people to leave

The maid's body was found this month with apparent signs of torture, Philippine officials
said, in an apartment that had apparently been abandoned for at least a year.

In the aftermath of the discovery, Philippine authorities say they facilitated the return of
more than 1,000 "distressed overseas Filipino workers" in Kuwait, most of whom had
worked as household servants.

The country's department of foreign affairs estimate that some 252,000 of its citizens
are living and working there.

Kuwaiti authorities, meanwhile, have vowed to do everything possible to see justice is

done.

Mr Cayetano said he expected Kuwaiti authorities to request the extradition of Mr Assaf

from Lebanon, to stand trial in Kuwait.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-43177349

Hawak na ng mga awtoridad ang mag-asawang itinuturing na mga suspek sa

pagkamatay ng isang overseas Filipino worker (OFW) na si Joanna
Demafelis.
Ayon sa Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), nasa kustodiya na ng mga
awtoridad sa Syria si Mona Hassoun, asawa ni Nader Essam Assaf na nahuli
naman sa Lebanon noong Biyernes.
Ang mag-asawa ang itinuturing na principal suspects sa pagpaslang kay
Demafelis, na pumasok umano sa kanila bilang house help.

 Wife of main suspect in Joanna Demafelis slay now in Syrian custody:

DFA
 Main suspect in OFW Demafelis' slay now in Lebanese custody, says
DFA

Natagpuan ang bangkay ng 29 anyos na si Demafelis sa isang freezer sa

Kuwait nitong Pebrero, higit isang taon matapos maiulat na siya ay nawawala.

 Bangkay ng Pinay na natagpuan sa freezer sa Kuwait, kilala na

Ayon kay Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, ngayong nahuli na
ang mag-asawa ay masisimulan na ng pamahalaan ang pagkuha ng
katarungan sa pagkamatay ni Demafelis.
Ang pagkamatay ni Demafelis ay isa sa mga nagtulak sa gobyerno ng
Pilipinas para magpatupad ng total deployment ban sa Kuwait.
Nagpatupad na rin ng repatriation program ang gobyerno para sa mga
manggagawang Pinoy sa Kuwait na nais umuwi ng bansa.
Higit 250,000 Pilipino ang nagtatrabaho sa Kuwait, karamihan bilang domestic
helper, ayon sa DFA.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/25/18/mag-asawang-suspek-sa-pagpatay-kay-
joanna-demafelis-hawak-na-ng-mga-awtoridad