Philippine human rights campaigner Leila de Lima has been granted bail, according to her lawyer, putting her a step closer to freedom after nearly seven years behind bars.
De Lima was “triumphant” on Monday after a judge granted her bail. One of the most outspoken critics of former President Rodrigo Duterte and his deadly antidrug war, the activist was jailed on narcotics-related charges she says were fabricated to silence her.
Since President Ferdinand Marcos came into office last June, there have been renewed calls from human rights groups, foreign diplomats, and politicians for de Lima’s release.
Before her arrest on February 24, 2017, de Lima had spent about 10 years investigating “death squad” killings allegedly orchestrated by Duterte during his time as Davao City mayor and in the early days of his presidency.
She conducted the probes while serving as the nation’s human rights commissioner, and then from 2010 to 2015 as justice minister in the Aquino administration that preceded Duterte’s rule.
Read more here.
