Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - The office of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that it was "exasperated" ...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - The office of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that it was "exasperated" with International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan's decision to reopen an inquiry into killings that occurred during the country's anti-drug campaign.
Khan stated on Friday that the ICC's investigation should resume as soon as possible and that Manila's request for a delay of the investigation was unwarranted.
The Duterte administration has conducted "investigations of all deaths that have come from authorised drug enforcement operations," according to a statement from the presidential spokesman Martin Andanar, and the ICC should let the government's efforts play out.
A campaign that resulted in the deaths of thousands of suspected drug dealers was cleared for inquiry last September by ICC judges. Activists claim that numerous people have been put to death by police enforcement with the president's tacit approval. On Manila's request, the ICC put the inquiry on hold in November.
According to the government, 6,252 people have died as a result of the drug war as of May 2022.
With his six-year term coming to an end on June 30, Duterte has defended the police and claimed that everyone who was slain was a drug dealer who resisted capture. He has stated in the past that he would free any police who wind up in prison and that they may kill if they were in danger.
Khan's appeal to reopen the inquiry into alleged crimes against humanity committed during the drug war, according to Maria Elena Vignoli, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch, "is a booster shot for accountability."
In a statement, Vignoli claimed that "the government has not been serious about justice for these crimes while the families of the victims grieve without restitution and those responsible face no penalties."
