The former president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022) was arrested on Tuesday March 11, after his landing at Manila airport in application of an arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (CPI) in the context of an investigation for crimes against humanity in the context of his murderous war against drugs, the presidency announced.
“Early this morning, Interpol Manille received the official copy of an arrest warrant issued by the ICCsaid the presidency in a press release. He is currently in detention. “The former president and his group are healthy and are being examined by doctors”continued the same source.
The former 79 -year -old leader is accused of “Crime against humanity of murder” For the repression during which human rights groups believe that tens of thousands of men, mostly poor, were killed by police and self -defense groups, often without it being proven that they were linked to drugs.
The CPI judges announced in September 2021 that they had authorized the opening of an investigation into the murders committed during the “War on drugs” delivered under his presidency.
“Reasonable base”
International judges had concluded that he “There is a reasonable basis to open an investigation”noting that “The specific element constituting murder as a crime against humanity (…) is made ”. The Hague-based court in the Netherlands said the “Campaign known as” war on drugs “cannot be considered as a legitimate operation to maintain order, and murders cannot be considered neither legitimate nor as simple excesses”.
The judges had finally stressed that even if the Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019, the court remains competent to know crimes which would have been committed on their territory when they were a party party to the status of Rome, founding text of the Court, as well as for the murders committed in the city of Davao, at the time when Rodrigo Duterte was mayor, before he became president.
Rodrigo Duterte returned from a brief trip to Hong Kong and had just landed at Manila International Airport. Speaking before thousands of Filipino workers on Sunday, the former president had sentenced the investigation, dealing with investigators from the ICC to “Son of whores”while admitting that he “Accept” If he were to be arrested. In the past, he has regularly defended his anti -Drogue repression and denied having ordered the police to shoot suspects outside the framework of self -defense.
The former president remains an extremely popular man for many people in the Philippines who have supported his rapid crime solutions. There remains a powerful political force and is in the running to find his post as mayor in the mid-term elections in May.