2017 Photo Contest, General News, 1st prize

They Are Slaughtering Us like Animals

Photographer

Daniel Berehulak

The New York Times

09 October, 2016

Jimji Bolasa (6) cries before funeral parlor workers remove the body of her father, Jimboy, who was found dead after being abducted by unidentified men. Bolasa and a neighbor were abducted, and their bodies discovered under a bridge around an hour later, with gunshot wounds and showing signs of torture. Police allege the men were drug dealers, while neighbors say Bolasa had already given himself in.

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines began a concerted anti-drug offensive soon after taking office on 30 June. During his presidential campaign, Duterte and senior officials had linked high national crime rates with drugs: an approach popular with voters dissatisfied with the political establishment and its failure to tackle poverty, crime and corruption. The president repeatedly ordered an increase of efforts in the offensive. Amnesty International reports that this led to human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings by both civilians and police. According to the Philippine National Police, officers and unknown armed persons carried out 7,025 drug-related killings between 1 July and 21 January 2017.

About the photographer

Daniel Berehulak

A native of Sydney, Australia, and a regular contributor to The New York Times, he has visited more than 60 countries covering history-shaping events, including the Iraq and Afgh...

Technical information

Shutter Speed
1/1600
Focal length
35.0 mm
F-Stop
2.8
ISO
1600
Camera
NIKON D5

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