The Philippines acquits Leila de Lima, former senator critical of Duarte and imprisoned since 2017

May 12. (EUROPE PRESS) –

A court in the Philippines has acquitted Leila de Lima of the drug trafficking cases that were imputed to her during the term of former President Rodrigo Duterte, of whom she was one of her biggest critics.

The former senator and former Minister of Justice, who has been in prison since 2017, has celebrated this verdict in statements to the media during her transfer from the court to the police station, in statements collected by the ‘Manila Times’ where she has described this day as “glorious ” and has affirmed that “it is the beginning of my vindication”.

Even so, De Lima continues in prison until the rest of the charges against him are resolved, also related to drugs, and for which he has asked to be released on bail. He is accused of having allowed drug trafficking in the country’s prisons in exchange for money during his period in charge of the Justice portfolio, between 2010 and 2015.

De Lima’s detention has been protested by numerous international humanitarian organizations, which have denounced during the years of his captivity that the charges against him are false and have a political motivation.

In 2009, the senator launched an investigation into extrajudicial executions carried out by what is known as the “Davao death squad”, a city where Duterte was mayor for more than two decades.