The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has reiterated its call for the release of detained former Senator Leila de Lima and the dropping of the charges against her.
According to the IPU, it remains convinced that De Lima's imprisonment was in response to her vocal criticism of former President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war and extra-judicial killings.
"[The IPU] renews its call, in light of the foregoing, for Ms. de Lima to be released immediately and for the remaining criminal case against her to be dropped," it said in a decision it adopted in its 212th session.
It also expressed concern that De Lima continues to be detained more than seven years since she was first charged despite the recent recantation of witnesses in their allegations against her.
Last year, former Bureau of Corrections officer in charge Rafael Ragos and confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa retracted their allegations against De Lima and apologized to her.
In October, two witnesses also recanted their allegations to set her free, saying they did not want her to be a "victim of a mistrial."
De Lima has been detained in Camp Crame since February 2017 over drug allegations. She has repeatedly denied the allegations against her.
Her first acquittal came in February 2021 when the Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 205 junked one of her three cases.
On May 12, the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 204 acquitted De Lima and Ronnie Dayan, her co-accused and former bodyguard, of an illegal drug trading charge on the grounds of reasonable doubt. —NB, GMA Integrated News
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