GENEVA (24 February 2021) – UN experts* today reiterated the call for the immediate release of Philippines Senator Leila De Lima, who has been held in pre-trial detention since 2017. In August 2018, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded in its Opinion No. 61/2018 that the detention of Senator De Lima was arbitrary given the absence of a legal basis. It was also established that Senator De Lima’s detention resulted from her exercise of the right to political participation, freedoms of opinion and expression and thought and conscience; and that it was imposed through a procedure in which the basic guarantees of a fair trial were not respected. The Working Group also considered that Senator De Lima was detained on discriminatory grounds, as she was targeted for her political opinion, as well as her status as a human rights defender and as a woman. The Working Group called upon the Government to immediately release Senator De Lima, and provide compensation and other reparations. “As today marks four years of Senator De Lima being arbitrarily deprived of her liberty, we urge the Government of the Philippines to give effect to the Opinion, including by releasing Senator De Lima and reinstating her in the positions from which she was ousted,” the experts said. The experts welcomed her acquittal on one of three charges on 17 February 2021, but noted with concern that she continues to face two other charges and remains in pre-trial detention. ENDS