Rights group chief renews call for De Lima’s release

Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia have reiterated their call for the release of Senator Leila de Lima, who marks her second year in detention on February 24.“The two years Senator de Lima has spent languishing in prison serve as a dark reminder of President Rodrigo Duterte’s zero-tolerance for scrutiny and the eroding state of democracy and human rights in the Philippines,” Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) chairman Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian Parliament, said in a statement.“The charges against her fly in the face of justice and the Philippine government must end its judicial harassment against her without further delay,” Santiago said.De Lima was detained on drug charges. “It’s clear that the charges against her are politically motivated. Her prolonged and unjust imprisonment has been nothing but an attempt to deliberately silence Senator de Lima’s efforts, which were focused on important matters of public interest,” Santiago said.“Senator de Lima’s only ‘crime’ was trying to end the bloody anti-drug campaign unleashed under the current government. The Philippine people need more champions for justice like the senator. As she continues her fight behind bars, she can rest assured that her regional peers are standing in solidarity with her and will keep raising her case until the day she walks free again,” he said.