After Duterte s arrest Philippine drug war victims face abuse and online falsehoods

MANILA - The bloodied body of Sheerah Escuderos 18-year-old brother was found in 2017 with hands bound and head wrapped in packaging tape, a suspected victim of the Philippines then-President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs that left thousands dead.

The arrest of Duterte on March 11 on an International Criminal Court warrant over the drug war murders gave her some comfort, but Escudero and many others working on drug war cases have since faced a wave of online attacks from Duterte supporters.

Escuderos Facebook account has been flooded with comments and direct messages calling her a drug addict and a liar for seeking justice in her brothers case, and accusing her of being paid to malign Duterte.

Theyre really cursing us, and one person even told me, addicts should be beheaded. They should just die. Knowing that my brother was the victim, they still sent me that message, she said.

Other grieving mothers, human rights advocates and lawyers say they have faced similar, fierce harassment online since Duterte was arrested and whisked to the ICC in the Hague, where he awaits trial.

A surge of false claims also swept social media, with supporters claiming the ICC had no jurisdiction and calling it a kidnapping, while paid advertisements on Facebook promoted the former president, Reuters found.

Reuters spoke to three human rights groups who each said they had assisted several victims of targeted online harassment.

Representatives for Duterte and his daughter, Sara Duterte, the Philippine vice-president who has flown to the Hague to support her father, did not respond to requests for comment.

The recent online onslaught is reminiscent of a well-organised social media campaign in 2016 that propelled Duterte into the presidency, analysts say. Critics at the time blamed pro-Duterte trolls and influencers for spreading falsehoods to discredit and threaten