Akbayan has denounced the filing of cases against Sen. Leila de Lima as a desperate attempt to stifle principled dissent, a sexist obsession to put down a vocal critic of the Duterte administration.
In a statement, Akbayan said “her impending arrest will make her a political prisoner, persecuted under false pretext of trumped up drug charges.”
For being outspoken and critical, she is facing hasty, vindictive persecution while the likes of Jack Lam, Peter Lim and Janet Napoles are being accommodated and freed, it said.
Akbayan calls on the public to remain vigilant and not allow due process and the rule of law to be sacrificed for the sake of political vendetta. Akbayan supports the call of the people for justice and fairness, and accountability from the malevolent forces behind the demonization of a human rights defender.
There are people who belong behind bars but Leila de Lima is definitely not one of them, according to Akbayan.
