Philippine court grants bail to jailed "drug war" critic

FILE PHOTO: Former Philippines senator Leila de Lima walks out of the Muntinlupa Hall of Justice surrounded by police, after a hearing on a drugs charge in Muntinlupa, Philippines, June 5, 2023. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez/File Photo

MANILA (Reuters) -A Philippine court on Monday granted bail to a former senator and fierce critic of a former president's bloody "war on drugs" after nearly seven years in jail on charges she always denied.

Leila de Lima, 64, faced various charges in 2017 within months of launching a Senate inquiry into the President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal anti-narcotics campaign, in which thousands of users and dealers were killed by police or in mysterious circumstances.