Leila de Lima, a former senator in the Philippines who has been incarcerated for nearly seven years on drug-related charges, was granted bail on Monday, as confirmed by her lawyer Filibon Tacardon.
Expressing joy and relief outside the court, Tacardon mentioned that de Lima was emotional about the news. De Lima, a vocal critic of former President Rodrigo Duterte and his anti-drug campaign, asserts that the charges against her, initially three in number, were concocted to stifle her dissent.
The accusations involve allegations that she accepted money from inmates to facilitate drug trafficking while serving as the justice minister from 2010 to 2015.
Notably, two of the charges have already been dismissed due to the death or recantation of multiple witnesses, including leaders of prison gangs.
Source: AFP