HRW Urges Inquiry Into Philippine Mayor’s Alleged Role in Executions

According to Human Rights Watch, the mayor of a Philippine city has “a long history of inflammatory public statements that would seem to encourage the extrajudicial killing of suspected criminals,” and has instructed the city’s police officers to “shoot to kill” suspected lawbreakers.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Philippine government must investigate Rodrigo Duterte, mayor of the southern city of Davao, for his alleged role in extrajudicial killings, a rights group said Tuesday.

“The Philippine government should take a zero-tolerance approach to any public official who publicly endorses extrajudicial killings as an acceptable means of crime control,” Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Duterte’s public support for these practices should be closely scrutinized and an investigation into his possible role in such killings is “long overdue,” Kine said.

#Philippines govt should probe death squad links of tough guy mayor #Duterte says @hrw http://t.co/NogyMsrfXs Overdue pic.twitter.com/Yw6hbrTsKO

— Phelim Kine 林海 (@PhelimKine) 19 мая 2015

In 2009, the Human Rights Watch released a report documenting the existence of a Davao “death squad” and the mayor’s role within the illegal organization.

The country’s Commission on Human Rights has also questioned Duterte’s alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings, calling for murder charges to be filed against the mayor.