Lawyer wants Duterte in court
Turnbull in damage control
MANILA, Feb 18, (Agencies): Philippine attorney Jude Sabio says he hasn’t been home for a year, steers clear of public events and is forever looking over his shoulder after accusing President Rodrigo Duterte of crimes against humanity.
Sabio, a stocky 51-year-old, says he lives in constant fear of reprisals after filing a complaint at the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the wildly popular Duterte, whose administration Filipinos rate as the best performing since opinion polls started in the 1980s.
A little-known lawyer until he filed the complaint last April, Sabio argues that the deaths of thousands of Filipinos in a brutal war on drugs is Duterte’s method of controlling crime, and that he used the tactic effectively during his 22 years as the mayor of Davao City in the south of the country.
Duterte has repeatedly denied ordering extra-judicial killings while mayor or president and reiterated this month that he would “gladly” go before the ICC. Court Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda had earlier said her office had started a preliminary examination into whether any crimes against humanity had been committed and if ICC had jurisdiction.
The step is the first in a process that could take years to complete, if at all. Since it was set up in 2002, the ICC has received more than 12,000 complaints or communications, just nine of which have gone to trial.
Sabio
Australia’s PM in damage control:
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull brushed aside suggestions of a rift in his coalition government on Sunday, saying there were “no issues” between the Liberal and National parties in the wake of a sex scandal that has swamped Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.
“I can assure you that the relations are very strong,” he said at a televised press conference in Melbourne.
“I know there was great excitement in the media that there was some Coalition clash, there are no issues between the Liberal and National parties, at all. None at all.”
Brawls at Pacific cruise liner:
A South Pacific cruise was interrupted by brawls apparently caused by a 23-member family who threw punches at other passengers, some of whom said they locked themselves in cabins to escape three days of violence.
The Carnival Legend arrived in its home port of Melbourne on Saturday, a day after a family was offloaded in an unscheduled stop in Eden, New South Wales in Australia. Police said they were investigating the incident and the operator apologized for the “disruptive behavior” by the group that was removed from the cruise liner.
The “big Italian family” spent days attacking Australians aboard the ship, with people “getting strangled and punched up,” passenger Lisa Bolitho told reporters.
Thai junta charges 50:
Thailand’s military government has filed criminal charges against 50 activists over a recent protest in which they demanded the army give up power and restore civilian rule through elections, a lawyers’ group said Friday.
The Lawyers Association of Thailand said Friday that seven leading activists were charged with sedition and 43 others with violating a ban on political assembly for the Feb 10 demonstration, in which 400 people participated. They were charged earlier this week, but as of Friday morning there had been no public announcement and at least some of those charged had not been notified. The lawyers’ group said the charges were meant to protect the military’s position and threaten those who criticize it.