On Tuesday, the Philippine government announced that it has obtained an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte on charges of crimes against humanity.
According to police records, Duterte oversaw a widespread and violent anti-drug campaign that claimed over 6,000 lives during his tenure in office; however, independent monitors estimate that the number of extrajudicial executions may have been significantly higher. After returning to the Philippines from Hong Kong on Tuesday, Duterte, 79, was arrested amid tumultuous scenes at the major airport in the city, Manila.
According to a statement from the Presidential Communications branch, Interpol’s Manila branch received “the official copy of the arrest warrant from the ICC” on Tuesday morning.
The statement stated that Duterte is currently in the custody of authorities and that upon his arrival, the Prosecutor General filed an ICC notification for an arrest warrant against the former President for crimes against humanity.
Duterte rose to power in 2016 on a pledge to fight drugs and drug traffickers in the Southeast Asian country, earning him the nickname “Asia’s Trump” from some pundits for his unconventional leadership style and flamboyant speech. Thousands were killed in the ensuing violent crackdown; the majority of the victims were young men from poor shantytowns who were targeted by police and renegade gunmen.
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