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Amnesty Says Duterte's Philippines Drug War a 'Murdering Enterprise'

VOA News

   The Philippine government and police forces have utilized the country's
   "war on drugs" as a pretext for committing widespread murders,
   according to a new [1]report by Amnesty International, which calls for
   the United Nations to investigate possible crimes against humanity as a
   result of the country's drug policy.

   Titled "They Just Kill," the report alleges that Philippine police
   officers would often fabricate reasons for using lethal force against
   people suspected of involvement with drugs. According to the report,
   officers would frequently justify the use of lethal force by citing a
   "buy-bust" justification, asserting that suspects fired upon officers
   during undercover sting operations.

   Often, individuals did not own firearms or were too poor to buy them,
   the report alleges.

   "It's so consistent, it's a script. In fact, when you see the report,
   it looks like a template," said a Philippine investigator quoted in the
   report.

   Amnesty International also asserts that "drug watch lists" used to
   identify individuals associated with the drug trade are "unreliable,
   illegitimate, and unjustifiable," and part of a broader policy against
   the country's poor in which officers are encouraged to use lethal
   force.

References

   1. https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa35/0578/2019/en/