[ad_1]
Philippine Courts turn down The last pending criminal case against the former senator Leila de LimaIt ended a seven-year legal battle brought by then-President Rodrigo Duterte against one of the country’s prominent human rights defenders.
case, Suspected of drug traffickingIt was one of three charges against De Lima, who had campaigned on behalf of thousands of victims of violence before her arrest, that kept her in police custody for more than six years. Duterte’s “War on Drugs” Leads to Extrajudicial Killings”
“You will now answer to the people for your crimes,” De Lima told reporters outside the Metro Manila Court on Monday. Referring to the former president. “Duterte will be held accountable. He should be held accountable,” she said.
International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation possible Crimes against humanity Implemented between November 2011 and March 2019 in the context of Duterte’s “war on drugs” When he was mayor of Davao CityLocated in the southern island of Mindanao. Duterte announced that the Philippines quit Although the ICC announced its withdrawal from the European Union in 2018, the court can still try crimes that occurred before the withdrawal from the EU took effect in 2019.
Lima Legal and political saga Similar to the trajectory of the “war on drugs”. She opposed Duterte’s brutal policies from the beginning. When she was president While serving as a member of the National Human Rights Commission and a senator, she launched a Senate investigation into the rampant nationwide killings after Rodrigo Duterte took office as president in 2016. The Duterte administration filed drug charges against her and she was Arrested in 2017. she Granted bail Just last year.
De Lima’s acquittal should prompt President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s government to take more decisive action to hold accountable authorities implicated in “drug war” killings, including those Still happening Marcos should recognize the need for accountability, especially since of the thousands of killings that have occurred during Duterte’s term, only four have resulted in court convictions to date, including the conviction of four police officers for the killing of a father and son on June 18, 2016. This dismal record underscores the need for an ICC investigation and for the Marcos administration to fully cooperate with the court.
[ad_2]
Source link
