(Eagle News) – The Philippine government described as a “sham decision” the recent finding of the International People’s Tribunal in Brussels, Belgium that found President Rodrigo Duterte guilty of human rights violations for drug-related deaths in the war against drugs.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that the IPT convened in Belgium had “no official sanction.”
“I’m in this field of law, I do not know who sat there. They appear to be a propaganda body of the international Left,” he said.
“Therefore we set it aside as being a useless piece of propaganda against the government,” he added
The IPT said that the verdict will be forwarded to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the European Parliament, and the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Eight human rights lawyers and activists sat in the panel of jurors that heard the alleged complaints against Duterte on Sept. 18 and 19
Azadeh N. Shahshahani, a human rights lawyer and advocate based in Atlanta, Georgia headed the panel which heard the complaints coming from the left-leaning groups Anakbayan, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Desaparecidos, Hustisya, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, Migrante, Kadamay, Karapatan, Selda, Sandugo and Rise Up for Life and for Rights.
The IPT convenors included the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights, Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, Ibon International and International Coalition of Human Rights in the Philippines.
President Duterte was accused of gross violations of human rights which included thousands of alleged extrajudicial killings in his crackdown on illegal drugs, mass killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, political persecution, attacks on the press and for alleged abuses in the martial law enforcement in Mindanao.
Australian missionary Patricia Fox, was among the 31 witnesses presented during the alleged trial of the IPT.
Documentary evidence which included pictures, videos, expert analyses and summaries, were also presented.
The panel also found US President Donald Trump guilty for supporting the Philippine leader.
