#FreeLeilaNow as US Senator Marco Rubio has called for the release of Senator Leila De Lima, who has been detained due to drug-related charges.
On his tweet, Rubio wanted the Philippine government to “unconditionally” release De Lima.
“Philippine Senator Leila de Lima, a critic of extrajudicial killings under Duterte’s so-called “war on drugs,” has spent the last two years in prison on bogus charges,” Rubio stated in his tweet.
“I call on the Philippine government to unconditionally release her #FreeLeilaNow #ExpressionNOTOppression” he added.
Rubio is one of the senators of the United States who earlier filed a resolution in the US Senate condemning De Lima’s continued detention. The others being Senators Ed Markey, Dick Durbin, Marsha Blackburn, and Chris Coons.
According to House Resolution 233, the US considered Senator Leila De Lima to be a “prisoner of conscience” who was detained “solely on account of her political views and the legitimate exercise of her freedom of expression.”
De Lima has been detained since February 23, 2017, at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City. She was detained because of the allegations related to drug trafficking and had been detained for more than two years.
The resolution called for the Philippine government to remove restrictions on De Lima’s personal and work conditions, as well as to allow her to perform her function as Chair of the Committee on Social Justice.
In addition, the resolution wants the Philippine government to “recognize the importance of human rights defenders and their work, and allow them to operate freely without fear of reprisal.“
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