10 years after Philippines’ brutal Ampatuan Massacre, activists demand justice for victims
- In 2009, 58 people were killed in a brutal political slaying
- The victims included 32 journalists and media workers, making the killing the deadliest single-day attack against the press in the Philippines
Human rights groups, press freedom advocates and relatives of the 58 people killed in the Philippines’ worst political killing called for justice on Saturday, the 10th anniversary of the massacre.
Nearly 200 suspects, including several members of a political clan in the southern province of Maguindanao, where the massacre occurred on November 23, 2009, are on trial for the killings.
The hearings have already been concluded, but the judge is yet to issue a verdict.
“The Maguindanao massacre exposed the rot in that corrupt and violent political culture,” said Carlos Conde, a researcher for the New York-based Human Rights Watch.
“Convicting those responsible for the Maguindanao massacre would serve as a wake-up call that justice is possible in the Philippines, and a human rights-abusing status quo is unacceptable,” he added in a statement.