Human rights activist, Zara Alvarez, is the thirteenth human rights activist of her group killed in Philippines “war against dissent” while under President Rodrigo Duterte’s rule.
Alvarez, a former education director of the human rights alliance Karapatan, died on Monday evening after being shot six times as she was heading home from buying dinner.
Police say Alvarez was killed by an unidentified assailant, who got away with the help of an unidentified accomplice.
However human rights group called on the Philippine government to investigate Alvarez’s death alongside the other 12 rights activists killed since Duterte’s administration took power in mid-2016.
Just weeks before Alvarez’s death, Duterte signed into law a controversial anti-terror legislation, allowing for warrantless arrests and longer detentions without charge.
Karapaten’s security General, Christina Palabay, commented: “considering the prior threats that they received from state forces, it is not really far from our mind that those who killed them are from the state forces.”
Palabay went onto allege that Alvarez was among those listed by Duterte’s justice department as suspected “terrorists.”
On Wednesday, government investigators promise to investigate the case keeping in mind the victims' alleged affiliation with “leftist groups” as a possible lead for the attack.
Read more from Human Rights Watch, Al Jazeera, and Benar News
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