ASEAN parliamentarians call for immediate release of Philippine Sen. Leila de Lima on one-year anniversary of detention

JAKARTA – Parliamentarians from across Southeast Asia today reiterated their call for the immediate and unconditional release of Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, who, as of tomorrow, will have spent one year in detention awaiting trial on politically motivated charges.

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) praised the Senator for her relentless pursuit of accountability and human rights and warned that her continued imprisonment represented a black mark on the Philippines’ international reputation.

“Senator de Lima’s unjust and politically motivated imprisonment continues to exemplify the grave threats to Philippine democracy that exist today, as well as the dire state of human rights in the country as a whole,” said APHR Chairperson Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian Parliament.

“Her detention is a preposterous abuse of the criminal justice system, which only serves to undermine the rule of law in the Philippines. Senator de Lima is a prisoner of conscience and must be released immediately.”

Sen. de Lima was arrested on 24 February 2017, one week after being charged with three counts of drug trafficking. She has remained in detention since, awaiting trial. Her arrest came as she was in the midst of leading a Senate investigation into President Duterte’s brutal ‘war on drugs,’ which has seen thousands die at the hands of police and vigilantes since Duterte took office in June 2016.

“As one of the most vocal opponents of the Duterte administration’s deadly ‘war on drugs,’ it is clear that Senator de Lima’s detention is the result of her dogged defense of the rights of all Filipinos. The government is relying on repression and intimidation to silence and impede the efforts of those working to uncover abuses and promote accountability,” Santiago said.

Since being charged, proceedings against Sen. de Lima have been marked by significant delays, including those resulting from motions filed by the Department of Justice to amend her charge from drug trafficking to conspiracy to traffic drugs.

Restrictions have also been placed on visits to the Senator in jail. APHR members were blocked from visiting Sen. de Lima in September, despite having followed all proper protocols, and other foreign delegations have since faced similar hurdles. Such moves by the authorities have only strengthened the argument that she is a victim of political persecution, APHR said.

“Barring foreign delegations like ours from visiting Senator de Lima sends the message that the government has something to hide when it comes to her case. Moreover, if the authorities had a legitimate case against her, it would have gone to trial already,” Santiago said.

MPs noted that Sen. de Lima’s case also reflected broader regional trends that have seen fellow lawmakers in Cambodia, Malaysia, and elsewhere arrested and charged amidst an intensifying clampdown on opposition voices across Southeast Asia.

“Senator de Lima is one of a growing number of lawmakers in the ASEAN region, who have faced harassment and imprisonment for daring to challenge the powers that be. This represents an unacceptable threat to democracy region-wide and must be countered,” Santiago said.

Meanwhile, international concern over President Duterte’s drug war has continued to rise in the months since Sen. de Lima’s imprisonment. This month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) launched an initial inquiry into crimes against humanity allegedly committed by President Duterte, including extrajudicial executions dating back to 1988, when Duterte was the mayor of Davao City.

“If the government was trying to shut her up and avoid further international scrutiny by imprisoning Senator de Lima, their plan has backfired spectacularly. The move has only invited more questions about the administration’s atrocious human rights record,” Santiago concluded.

“As regional lawmakers, we stand in solidarity with Senator de Lima and all human rights defenders in the Philippines. We are in this fight together,” he added.