MANILA – A number of United States senators have urged the Duterte administration to release from detention Sen. Leila de Lima as well as dismiss the cases against Rappler and its chief Maria Ressa.
In a resolution released over the weekend, US senators Marco Rubio, Edward Markey, Richard Durbin, Marsha Blackburn, and Chris Coons condemned the arrest De Lima and Ressa, whom they described as “human rights defenders and political leaders.”
“De Lima is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely on account of her political views and the legitimate exercise of her freedom of expression,” the US senators’ resolution said.
De Lima had been arrested in February 2017 after several convicted crime lords at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City testified against her for allegedly pocketing drug payoffs.
Aside from De Lima, the US senators also urged government to “guarantee the right to the freedom of the press” and to drop the “unjustified” charges against news website Rappler and its CEO, Maria Ressa.
The Rappler and Ressa, known for critical reportage on the administration, are facing several cases including libel and tax-related charges.
The US senators have also condemned in their resolution Duterte administration’s “role in state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings by police and other armed individuals” under the drug war.
The Duterte administration have repeatedly denied involvement in summary killings, saying some 5,000 drug suspects slain in police anti-drug operations had put up violent resistance./PN
