Duterte Critic Freed Again

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Duterte Critic Freed Again
Photo: Aaron Favila/AP/TT

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The Filipino human rights activist Leila de Lima has been acquitted of the last remaining charge regarding drug trafficking.

According to her lawyer, a judge has decided to drop the case due to insufficient evidence.

Leila de Lima was arrested in February 2017 and accused of involvement in drug trafficking. She herself and human rights groups have claimed that the charges are politically motivated, as she has been a sharp critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The second-to-last charge against Leila de Lima was dropped last year.

She was previously the country's human rights commissioner and from 2010 to 2015, the justice minister in Benigno Aquino's government.

Leila de Lima won a Senate seat in 2016 and became one of the few opposition voices when populist Duterte won a landslide victory.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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