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| Leila de Lima: Top Duterte critic arrested on drug charge | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A leading critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Leila de Lima, has been arrested on drug trafficking charges. | A leading critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Leila de Lima, has been arrested on drug trafficking charges. |
| Senator Leila de Lima is accused of receiving money from detained drug lords. | Senator Leila de Lima is accused of receiving money from detained drug lords. |
| She has insisted on her innocence and says the charges are an attempt to silence her criticism of Mr Duterte's war against drugs. | |
| She had spent the night in the Senate in Manila to evade arrest on Thursday. | She had spent the night in the Senate in Manila to evade arrest on Thursday. |
| But on Friday morning she surrendered to police, telling reporters: "It is my honour to be imprisoned for the things I am fighting for. | But on Friday morning she surrendered to police, telling reporters: "It is my honour to be imprisoned for the things I am fighting for. |
| "They will not be able to silence me and stop me from fighting for the truth and justice and against the daily killings and repression by the Duterte regime." | "They will not be able to silence me and stop me from fighting for the truth and justice and against the daily killings and repression by the Duterte regime." |
| Ms de Lima's charges stem from events which allegedly took place when she was justice minister between 2010 and 2016. | |
| She is accused of abetting the drug trade by extorting money from inmates in the notorious New Bilibid Prison, who in turn raised money by trafficking drugs within the jail. | |
| Vocal critic | |
| Ms de Lima has been one of the most vocal critics of Mr Duterte, and previously investigated him for extra-judicial killings when Mr Duterte was mayor of the city of Davao. | |
| Mr Duterte launched a brutal nationwide drug war in July 2016 shortly after becoming president. More than 7,000 people have been killed. | |
| Critics say the president has encouraged police, vigilantes and mercenaries to shoot suspected drug dealers and users on sight. | |
| The death toll from the crackdown has attracted intense criticism from human rights groups and Western countries, although the president continues to enjoy a high level of support among Filipinos. | The death toll from the crackdown has attracted intense criticism from human rights groups and Western countries, although the president continues to enjoy a high level of support among Filipinos. |
| Mr Duterte has defiantly defended the crackdown, saying the country is plagued by drugs and that police were only authorised to open fire when threatened by suspects. | |
| But the operations were suspended last month after the killing of a South Korean businessman inside police headquarters. | |
| Mr Duterte said the police force needed to be cleaned up and has now ordered the Drug Enforcement Agency, rather than the police, to lead it, with back-up from the military. | Mr Duterte said the police force needed to be cleaned up and has now ordered the Drug Enforcement Agency, rather than the police, to lead it, with back-up from the military. |