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The Philippines’ highest court on Friday forced out its chief justice, removing a fierce critic of President Rodrigo Duterte and his brutal war against drugs, which has left thousands dead. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/world/asia/philippines-chief-justice-rodrigo-duterte.html This is how democracy dies. #AxisOfAutocrats
Top Philippine Judge Removed After Attacks on Duterte's Drug War https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-11/top-philippine-judge-removed-after-attacks-on-duterte-s-drug-war
I'll be on Al Jazeera between 5:25-5:40pm today (DC time) to talk about this. For Americans, this move is a bit like Trump getting his cronies to fire Bob Mueller. If you're worried about Trump, study Duterte. He has a 6-month head start on his autocracy. https://twitter.com/AFP/status/994859656953716736
Philippines’ Top Court Ousts Chief Justice, Critic of Duterte’s Drug War https://www.wsj.com/articles/philippines-top-court-ousts-chief-justice-critic-of-dutertes-drug-war-1526027374 Trump must be jealous that his pal Duterte can remove critics from office w/ease. Study the Philippine model for destroying norms. Autocrats are borrowing from each other's playbooks.
I’ve been warning for the past three years that those who are worried about Trump’s dictatorial abuses should study Duterte in the Philippines. He came to power before Trump and has pioneered the use of “lawfare” to silence or imprison his critics. https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1262733758421180416
If you want a good case study on the use of lawfare to imprison political opponents, read this thread on Duterte’s persecution of @SenLeiladeLima who has been declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. This is what Trump fantasizes about doing to Obama & Clinton. https://twitter.com/sanhotree/status/1187835606363262976
