Attorney Jude Sabio “betrayed” thousands of
suspected drug personalities who were summarily killed under the Duterte
government’s war on drugs, says Senator Leila De Lima.
On January 14, CNN Philippines reported that Sabio
is retracting the complaint he filed against President Rodrigo Duterte in the
International Criminal Court (ICC) that the tribunal said would not have any
impact at all to its ongoing assessment.
Sabio on Tuesday signed the affidavit saying
that he intends to withdraw the 77 page document called a “communication” by
the International Criminal Court (ICC), where he alleged in April 2017 the
“continuing mass murder” in the Philippines.
The lawyer said the complaint should be set
aside and trashed because it was being used by Rodrigo Duterte’s critics for
political propaganda.
“I will
send by email later my letter-withdrawal that I executed today addressed to
Prosecutor Bensouda regarding my intention to withdraw my earlier International
Criminal Court (ICC) communication,” Attorney Sabio said in a statement sent to
CNN Philippines.
He
added that he will submit it
personally to Bensouda’s office in The Hague anytime soon.
With his, De Lima condemned Sabio’s decision
not to pursue the communication he filed before the ICC concerning Duterte’s
alleged human rights violation.
“Attorney
Sabio may have fallen, but the fight continues without him and in spite of his
betrayal of the victims,” the detained senator said on Wednesday
“I feel
sorry for Attorney Sabio. I can understand that he is going through personal
issues that forced him to turn his back on the cause of the victims of mass
atrocities,” She added
“Whatever is the true reason for such an awful
move, Attorney Sabio has become very vulnerable to the machinations from the
dark forces.” She said
“I’m
pretty sure there are forces, desperate ones, behind this development, “the
opposition senator said.
De Lima, one of Duterte’s critics, said that
there are still other communications presented before the ICC about the alleged
human rights crimes committed under the current administration.
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