Supporters of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gathered outside the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) detention center on Wednesday, waving national flags and yelling, “Bring him back!” as he was hurried through the towering iron gates.
The ICC claims there are “reasonable grounds” to charge the 79-year-old with murder as a crime against humanity because he unreservedly supported his brutal “war on drugs” just before he arrived in the Netherlands. During his tenure as mayor and then president, he oversaw the execution of minor drug users, traffickers, and others without a trial.
Duterte claimed that in order to eradicate street crimes from the nation, he cracked down on drug dealers. Rights organizations, however, claim that the campaign, which targeted young males from the urban poor, was plagued with police abuse.
In addition to being the first suspect to be flown to The Hague in three years, Duterte is the first former Asian head of state to be indicted by the ICC. His presence also marks a turning point for the International Criminal Court.
An extraordinary series of circumstances led to Rodrigo Duterte’s detention and expulsion on Monday. His supporters claim that the country’s current president, Ferdinand Marcos, who has openly clashed with the influential Duterte family, is using the ICC as a political instrument.
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