Duterte: Russian drug suspects will get fair trial

M ANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has pledged that two accused Russian drug traffickers will be detained in a “comfortable house”, rather than his nation’s badly overcrowded jails.

Duterte made the commitment at a meeting late on Monday with Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev on the sidelines of a regional summit in Manila.

“I would just like to say we have a working functional justice system here and they will get a fair trial and 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 people will happen.”

Yuri Kirdyushkin and Anastasia Novopashina were under investigation for drug smuggling, but had not been convicted, Duterte said.