The Philippines on Sunday deported a US Marine convicted of killing a transgender woman in the Southeast Asian country in 2014, after he was granted an absolute pardon by President Rodrigo Duterte.
This handout photo taken and released by the Philippine Bureau of Immigration shows US marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton (center), who was convicted of killing a transgender woman and recently pardoned by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, escorted by immigration officers and US personnel as he arrives at the airport in Manila, Philippines on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton left Manila's international airport at 9:14 am local time (0114 GMT) aboard a US military aircraft bound for the US, according to Bureau of Immigration spokeswoman Dana Sandoval.
Pemberton was accompanied by representatives from the US embassy on his way to the airport, she told state television PTV-4.
"As a consequence of the deportation order against him, Pemberton has been placed on the bureau's blacklist, perpetually banning him from coming back," Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said in a statement.
Details of Pemberton's flight arrangements were not disclosed to the media until after he left amid tight security measures.
A court had found Pemberton guilty of killing Jennifer Laude in a hotel in Olongapo, outside a former US navy base northwest of the capital Manila, six years ago.
As a result, the case sparked heated debate over US military presence in its former colony.
Newspaper headline: Pardoned US Marine deported from Philippines