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“We had to start from scratch. We still cannot sleep at night because of the memories of our arrests. I am still reeling from the anxiety and trauma.”
Under President Rodrigo Duterte, the wee hours of the morning have been filled not with calmness but with anxiety as government critics fear they may be the next targets of illegal arrests and even graver rights abuses.
“This string of dismissals shows Judge Villavert’s notorious and baseless issuances of search warrants. She has clearly turned her court into a factory of bogus search warrants which has led to the illegal arrest of at least 76 activists, human rights defenders, peace advocates, peasant leaders, and journalists."
By JONAS ALPASAN With reports from John Paul Nacion and Rebecca Olorvida MANILA – The recent junking of charges against labor organizer Dennise Velasco is yet another vindication against the “search warrant factory” that has led to the arrests of activists in recent years. Still, there has been no review of cases stemming from these…
Acknowledging that the application and implementation of search warrants are “susceptible to abuse,” a Manila regional trial court last Wednesday acquitted an activist couple of the non-bailable charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives (grenades) filed by the police.