(UPDATED) The French Embassy said Wednesday that President Rodrigo Duterte was wrong when he said laws in France presumes a person "guilty until proven innocent."
"We have to point out that, as in the Philippines, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty is at the core of the French judicial system," the statement said.
"France strongly believes in the importance of the rule of law, due process and respect for human rights in all countries, including the Philippines," it further added.
On Monday, Duterte lashed at United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions Agnes Callamard on her recent Twitter statement involving Kian Loyd delos Santos, the 17-year old teener who was the latest victim of the bloody war on drugs of the Duterte administration.
Callamard, who hails from France, said on Twitter: "My heartfelt condolences to Kian's family and to all families victimized by this cruel war. Make his death the last."
Irritated by Callamard's remark, Duterte hit back at the UN envoy by calling her "stupid."
"She's son of a b****. Tell her, do not threaten me. She's son of a b****. She's a stupid. Where does she come from? What is [her] nationality?" Duterte said in an interview in San Fernando, Pampanga, on Monday, August 28.
Duterte then cited the alleged "indefinite" detention of criminals in France.
"There, they can detain a person almost indefinitely under the French law. And the French law says if you are guilty, (and) you have to prove your innocence," he said.
Callamard, a vocal critic of the widespread drug killings, in tweets said delos Santos was the "latest symbol of a massive, government-led, human rights crisis," citing an autopsy report showing he was shot at least twice in the head, apparently at close range.
Murder complaints were filed Friday against police officers involved in the the Aug. 16 shooting death of the teenager in Caloocan City.
The student, who wanted to become a police officer, was one of more than 80 drug and crime suspects killed in purported gunbattles with police over three days this month in the bloodiest period of Duterte's anti-drug campaign.The killings have sparked alarm and investigations by the Senate and others.
Anger and protests have focused on the killing of delos Santos, who police said was a drug dealer who opened fire with a pistol during a raid. His family, however, said he was mercilessly killed by police as he was pleading for his life and telling the officers he had an exam in school the next day. (AP/SunStar Philippines)
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