THE Former President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested after the ICC issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity.
The hardman ex-leader, who claimed to have thrown people out of helicopters, was taken into custody when he landed in Manila on Tuesday.
APDuterte has been accused of committing crimes against humanity by the ICC[/caption]
Duterte was arrested at Manilas international airport@PhoenixTV_News / X
He was detained on Tuesday morning@PhoenixTV_News / X
AFPFormer Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested[/caption]
The controversial leader has previously been accused of sponsoring death squads and claimed he carried out extra-judicial killings himself.
Duterte, 79, was detained after arriving from Hong Kong, President Ferdinand Marcos office said in a statement.
The ICC has been investigating mass killings during the former presidents deadly crackdown against illegal drugs.
The Philippines’ prosecutor general acted after Interpol Manila received a copy of the ICC warrant early on Tuesday.
While being arrested, the ex-President questioned the arrest saying, “What crimes [have] I committed?”
The ICC has alleged Duterte committed crimes against humanity while as a mayor of the southern city of Davao from 2011 and up until 2019, when he withdrew the country from the organisation.
His arrest warrant specifically cites “murder as a crime against humanity” in connection with his violent drug war.
The tribunal has been investigating the Duterte government’s drug war since September 15, 2021.
Between 12,000 to 30,000 people were killed during his deadly campaign, according to prosecutors at The Hague.
Duterte’s crusade of terror saw him threaten to throw people off helicopters during his war on drugs.
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