Philippines' Duterte vows comfort for Russian drug suspects

-
Philippines' Duterte vows comfort for Russian drug suspects

 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has pledged two accused Russian drug traffickers will be detained in a "comfortable house", rather than his nation's badly over-crowded jails.
Duterte made the commitment at a meeting late Monday with Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev on the sidelines of a regional summit in Manila.
"I would just like to say that we have a working functional justice system here and they will get a fair trial and that they will be detained in a comfortable house," Duterte told Medvedev, according to an official transcript.
"Whether (the allegations are) true or not, we will find out but I will see to it that they are treated fairly and no additional stress on their person that will happen." Yuri Kirdyushkin and Anastasia Novopashina were under investigation for drug smuggling but had not been convicted, Duterte said.
Duterte's 16-month rule has been dominated by a crackdown on illegal drugs in which police have reported killing 3,967 suspects.
Another 2,290 people have been murdered in drug-related crimes, while thousands of other deaths remain unsolved, according to government data. Rights groups and domestic critics say the crackdown could be a crime against humanity, warning that police and hired assassins are carrying out mass murder. Duterte has repeatedly railed against his critics and insisted human rights should take a backseat to eradicating drug traffickers.
He has also said he would be happy for all Filipino drug addicts to be "slaughtered". Rights groups say the crackdown has also added pressure on the country's extremely over-crowded prisons, with inmates forced to endure abject living conditions.
In many cases prisoners have to take turns sleeping while waiting for years for their cases to go through the courts. Duterte did not provide details on the two Russians' cases, and the Russian embassy and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency spokesmen told AFP they could not immediately comment on the case. Previous news reports have said Kirdyushkin was arrested with about 10 kilos (22 pounds) of cocaine at Manila airport on October 5 last year.
Manila airport customs police detained Novopashina in November last year after finding nearly 13 kilos of cocaine in her luggage, the reports said.
Russia's ties with the Philippines, a long-time US ally, have been improving dramatically under Duterte. Duterte is a self-described socialist and fan of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Duterte on Monday also thanked Russia for supplying guns and other weapons that he said helped defeat Islamist militants in the southern Philippine city of Marawi. The official transcript of Monday's meeting did not include Medvedev's response on the two detained suspects.
---

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

140 Quintal Garlic Produced In A Single Ward In Rukum Paschim

-
Image
140 Quintal Garlic Produced In A Single Ward In Rukum Paschim  Rukum Paschim, June 14 :  The local farmers at Musikot Municipality-10 in Rukum Paschim district have produced over 140 quintal of garlic. Garlic farming is conducted in Jhyang, Chaur, Galampati and Chun among other villages here.     The garlic has been exported outside the district, fetching the farmers Rs 1.3 million altogether, informed local people’s representative Dhan Bahadur Khadka.     Each farmer made Rs 20,000 to 125,000 of income from the garlic farming, according to Khadka. Garlic was sold Rs 100 per kg, Rs 20 higher than the last year.     Farmers here are elated that their produces have got market amid the ongoing lockdown.     Farmer Jhuplal Khadka shared with happiness that he sold garlic worth Rs 125,000 this year. The traders directly fetch the locally produce items from the farmers which earns them more money t...
Read more

Poverty drives child soldiers into Afghanistan's endless war

-
Poverty drives child soldiers into Afghanistan's endless war The rescue this summer of dozens of Afghan youths destined to be trained as Taliban fighters has spotlighted how entrenched poverty is fuelling a renewable supply of child soldiers to endlessly replenish the insurgents' ranks.  Afghan forces freed almost 40 children during multiple raids near the Pakistani border. Officials said traffickers working with the Taliban had recruited the boys, some as young as four, from poor families by promising to provide them with a religious education.  In reality they were set to be indoctrinated by hardline mullahs in Pakistan and receive military training to carry out attacks inside war-torn Afghanistan, authorities said. "Our parents always wanted us to learn Islamic studies but we didn't know that we would be fooled and brainwashed to become suicide bombers," nine-year-old Shafiullah told AFP after being rescued by police.  The use of child soldiers by all side...
Read more

A Memorable Trip to Pokhara

-
Image
A Memorable Trip to Pokhara Since my childhood I had heard a lot that Pokhara is a really beautiful place I wanted to visit it after hearing that. My friends used to talk about that place which made me more curious to visit there. Finally after a long time my family decided to go there on vacation. I was really happy. I was in grade 4 that time and it was my first time to go out of Kathmandu valley. The distance from Kathmandu to Pokhara is about 204 km. We went there by plane. It took about 30 min to reach there from Kathmandu. We enjoyed the scenery of mountains by plane. We stayed in hotel Jal Mahal, Pokhara. The hotel is just 500 m away from the airport. One of my relatives was also with us who lead us just like a guide as be had visited Pokhara many times. The next day we visited places of Pokhara after lunch. Pokhara is really beautiful as I have heard. It is famous for its tranquil atmosphere and beautiful surrounding countryside. It lies on the shores of th...
Read more