THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The International Criminal Court has suspended its investigation into suspected rights abuses committed under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” following a request from Manila. The Hague-based court in September authorised a probe of the campaign that has left thousands of people dead, saying it resembled an illegitimate and systematic attack on civilians. Duterte was elected in 2016 on a campaign promise to get rid of the Philippines’ drug […]
Tag: justice
Pres. Duterte appoints Midas Marquez as SC Associate Justice
(Eagle News) – President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Court Administrator and former Supreme Court spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. This was announced by acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles on Tuesday, Nov. 16. Marquez, 55, was the 14th Court Administrator of the Supreme Court, and with his recent appointment, becomes the 192nd Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He replaced Justice Edgardo delos Santos who retired […]
ICC approves Philippines ‘war on drugs’ investigation
by Jan HENNOP Agence France Presse THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The International Criminal Court on Wednesday authorised a full probe into Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs”, saying it resembled an illegitimate and systematic attack on civilians. Judges said there was a “reasonable basis” to believe that the crime against humanity of murder had been committed in the crackdown, which has left thousands of people dead. Duterte pulled Manila out of the […]
Jailed Samsung chief released on parole
by Claire LEE SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — The jailed de facto leader of the giant Samsung group walked free on parole Friday, the latest instance of South Korea’s long tradition of freeing business leaders imprisoned for corruption or tax evasion on economic grounds. Lee Jae-yong — the 202nd richest person in the world according to Forbes, with a net worth of $11.4 billion — was serving a two-and-a-half year prison sentence for bribery, embezzlement […]
New ICC prosecutor arrives in Sudan
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan has arrived in Sudan for a week of talks including on outstanding arrest warrants for genocide in Darfur, state media reported Tuesday. Khan will hold talks on “ways to boost cooperation” on investigations into the crimes committed during the devastating civil war in Darfur, the official SUNA news agency said. The United Nations says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced in […]
One dead in Minneapolis after man drives into crowd of protestors
MINNEAPOLIS, United States (AFP) — A woman was killed and three other people injured when a man drove into a crowd of demonstrators who were protesting the shooting death by US Marshals of a Black man in Minneapolis, police said Monday. Police said the man, who may have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, drove his vehicle into a group of protestors shortly before midnight. “Protesters pulled the suspect from the vehicle and, […]
‘Justice’: America reacts to Floyd murderer’s conviction
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Politicians, rights activists and family members and even world leaders reacted with jubilation and relief Tuesday as sacked Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin was convicted of the murder of George Floyd, a Black man who died when the officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes last year. Here are some the immediate reactions following the announcement of the guilty verdicts on all three counts — second degree murder, […]
Virginia first southern US state to abolish death penalty
by Chris Lefkow Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Virginia on Wednesday became the first southern US state to abolish the death penalty and the 23rd state in the country to end capital punishment. Democratic Governor Ralph Northam signed legislation repealing the death penalty in Virginia, saying it was “the moral thing to do.” Virginia is the first of the southern states that made up the Confederacy during the 1861-65 US Civil […]
Guevarra mulls extending DOJ lockdown after 17 more test positive for COVID-19; total DOJ COVID-19 cases now at 45
(Eagle News)–Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra is mulling extending the lockdown of the Department of Justice after 17 more personnel tested positive for COVID-19. “We have a total of 45 active cases now, and I’m getting alarmed,” Guevarra said. The lockdown on the main building in Manila was supposed to be only from March 12 to 16. During the lockdown, most employees work from home. A skeleton staff, however, reports on-site to receive documents. The Philippines […]
French state in dock over climate change inaction
by Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Paris court began hearing Thursday a complaint brought by NGOs backed by two million citizens accusing the French state of failing to act to halt climate change, the first such case in the country. The campaign groups want the court to hold the state responsible for ecological damage and say victory would mark a symbolic step in the fight to persuade governments to do more. If […]
Trump administration carries out another execution despite appeals, pandemic
by Charlotte PLANTIVE Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A convicted murderer died by lethal injection on Thursday as the administration of President Donald Trump carries out a series of federal executions in its waning days in power, ignoring calls for clemency and Covid-19 outbreaks behind bars. Brandon Bernard, a 40-year-old African-American inmate, was put to death at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for his role in a 1999 double murder […]
Mexican president requests referendum on prosecuting predecessors
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday asked the Senate for a referendum on whether to prosecute five of his predecessors over allegations including corruption. Lopez Obrador’s proposed “people’s consultation” targets Carlos Salinas, Ernesto Zedillo, Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderon and Enrique Pena Nieto, whose terms in power stretched from 1988 to 2018. He accused them of presiding over “excessive concentration of wealth, monumental losses to the treasury, privatization of […]





