HRW: Philippines police falsify evidence to justify ‘war on drugs’ killings News
HRW: Philippines police falsify evidence to justify ‘war on drugs’ killings

Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] on Wednesday accused [HRW report] police in the Philippines of falsifying evidence to justify killings in the country’s war on drugs. President Rodrigo Duterte [CNN profile] has conducted a large scale war on drugs in the Philippines, including sanctioned killings of anyone who sells or uses drugs in the nation, according to the rights group. The report highlights practices by the police of falsifying evidence including planting drugs, guns and spent ammunition at crime scenes. The government has reportedly not charged a single police officer over any of the killings.

The violent war on drugs in the Philippines has been an ongoing issue since Duterte was elected President in May 2016. In February HRW urged the Philippines to drop political charges [JURIST report] against someone who had spoken out against Duterte’s war on drugs. Advocacy groups have repeatedly spoken out against the extrajudicial killings that have claimed over 7,000 lives in the country. In January Duterte announced the suspension [JURIST report] of the controversial anti-drug campaign. In November it was announced that Duterte considered leaving [JURIST report] the International Criminal Court to avoid any prosecution over the sanctioned killings in his country.

THIS DAY @ LAW

First impeachment trial began in US Senate

On December 17, 1798, the US Senate began its first impeachment trial. Senator William Blount of Tennessee, a land speculator, was accused of plotting with England to wrest control of Florida from Spain. The Senate ultimately dismissed the charges for lack of jurisdiction—and, perhaps incidentally, lack of Blount, who had gone to Tennessee and had refused to return to the Senate for trial. Read more on the trial of William Blount.

Simon Bolivar dies

On December 17, 1830, South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar died in Colombia. During his lifetime, Bolivar led successful revolutions against Spanish colonial rule throughout South America. His efforts led to the independence of the modern-day nations of Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador and Bolivia, a nation named in his honor.