Manila (AFP) – Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested Tuesday in Manila by police acting on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant tied to his deadly war on drugs.
The 79-year-old faces a charge of “the crime against humanity of murder”, according to the ICC, for a crackdown that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.
“Early in the morning, Interpol Manila received the official copy of the warrant of the arrest from the ICC,” the presidential palace said in a statement.
“As of now, he is under the custody of authorities.”
The statement added that “the former president and his group are in good health and are being checked by government doctors”.
Duterte’s former chief legal counsel, Salvador Panelo, called the arrest “unlawful”.
“The (Philippine National Police) didn’t allow one of his lawyers to meet him at the airport and to question the legal basis for PRRD’s arrest,” he said, adding a hard copy of the ICC warrant had not been provided.
But a group that worked to support mothers of those killed in Duterte’s drugs crackdown called the arrest a “very welcome development”.
“The mothers whose husbands and children were killed because of the drug war are very happy because they have been waiting for this for a very long time,” Rubilyn Litao, coordinator for Rise Up for Life and for Rights, told AFP.
Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, called on the government of President Ferdinand Marcos to “swiftly surrender (Duterte) to the ICC”, saying the arrest was a “critical step for accountability in the Philippines”.
My venting wasn’t about Philippines. If you hate them that much, go complain somewhere else.
Back on topic, reading the other comments, it’s looking more and more like a rival dictator got him done in. So this really ain’t about courage, it looks more and more like getting rid of the competition.
I was clearly defending the actions of the Philippines.
The International Criminal Court does not operate on the orders of world leaders. So no, a rival dictator did not get an ICC warrant issued for Duterte. Maybe don’t get your information from the comments section.
Dude, really? It’s not about the warrant, come on.
It’s like we’re focusing on different subjects in a sentence and talking past each other. Probably why you felt like defending something that wasn’t in question.
Oh, just a troll, got it.
The .world gives it away. These astroturfing bitches don’t understand fedi has no patience for them.