Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrested on an ICC warrant

Duterte is accused of crimes against humanity related to his anti-drug campaign, which claimed thousands of lives. His arrest comes after an international investigation, despite the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC in 2019

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at Manila airport on a warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on suspicion of crimes against humanity in his ‘war’ on drug trafficking. Human rights organisations estimate that tens of thousands of people have been killed by police and vigilante groups, often without evidence that they were linked to narcotics.

The International Criminal Court has opened an investigation into the anti-drug campaign launched in 2016, which it believes may constitute a crime against humanity. ‘Earlier this morning, Interpol Manila received the official copy of the arrest warrant issued by the ICC,’ the presidency said in a note. ‘He is currently in detention. The former president and his entourage are in good health and are being examined by doctors.’

The former president was returning from a short trip to Hong Kong and had just landed at Manila International Airport. On Sunday, speaking in front of thousands of Filipino workers in Hong Kong, Rodrigo Duterte condemned the investigation, calling the IPC investigators ‘sons of a…’, while admitting that he would ‘accept’ being arrested if he was. The Philippines left the IPC in 2019 on his order, but the court based in The Hague, Netherlands, said it retained jurisdiction over murders that occurred before the country withdrew, as well as murders committed in the city of Davao when Duterte was its mayor, before he became president.

According to official figures released by the Philippines, more than 6,000 people were killed in anti-drug operations under Duterte’s presidency. Prosecutors of the International Criminal Court estimate the death toll at between 12,000 and 30,000. The former president remains extremely popular in the Philippines, where many supported his quick fixes to crime. He remains a powerful political force and is fighting to regain his mayoral seat in May’s mid-term elections.

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