My name is Troy Birthisel. I am an Australian citizen. On 23 October 2013 I was arrested in the Philippines. This October marked 13 years. I am serving a life sentence, and I am still fighting it.

I was stopped at Mactan-Cebu airport on 22 October 2013, travelling with my partner and a group of women on their way to Singapore for job interviews. I was arrested without a warrant the next day.

Nine reasons the conviction should not stand

1. The prosecution’s own witnesses back me. Three of the complainants said under oath in court that I did not hire them or procure their services, and one said plainly, “Troy did not recruit me.” A fourth refused to answer the question, and the judge noted it.
2. The NBI’s lead investigator admitted under oath, again and again, that he found no evidence connecting me to the company. He also admitted he never interviewed me, although he had sworn that interviews with me were the reason for the arrest.
3. To be guilty, I had to have made people believe I could get them jobs abroad. Complainants said under oath in court that I never told them I could give them a job, and that I took no money from them. The court’s decision does not mention those answers.
4. The crime itself was never proven. In November 2013, before the trial, all six complainants signed affidavits withdrawing the complaint. Four swore in writing, before the trial, that the charges were not true and that they signed under pressure.
5. There was no agreement between me and my partner to commit any crime. No messages, no plans, no money. She was an applicant herself, and immigration officers treated her as a possible victim. I had twice tried to contact the company.
6. The Court of Appeals leaned on a case where the accused ran a recruitment office and was caught in a sting. Nothing like that exists in my case.
7. My arrest was illegal. I was not doing anything at the airport, and the only reason given for arresting me without a warrant was a set of interviews that the investigator later admitted never happened.
8. In 2023 the Ombudsman suspended the head of the task force that led the investigation for three months and recommended a criminal case against her, as reported in The Freeman in August 2023. The court was never told.
9. Six issues were never addressed by the Court of Appeals: the investigator’s admissions, the four sworn affidavits, a complainant’s false denial of her own affidavit, the withdrawal affidavits, a letter that showed my partner was an applicant and was never produced, and a case the court misapplied.

I am not asking you to take my word for it. The record is there. My appeal continues through the Philippine courts, with the help of lawyers who need to be paid.

What your support pays for

Legal costs for the appeal, including filing fees, copies of the court record and counsel.

The basics I need to stay healthy inside: food, clean drinking water, medicine, and clean bedding.

Please don’t forget me. If you cannot give, sharing this page helps just as much.

Thank you.