Former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the Philippine government on Tuesday after it said it received an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity. Duterte has been investigated by the ICC over his brutal anti-drugs crackdown during his time in office that killed more than 6,000 people based on police data, though independent monitors believe the number of extrajudicial killings could be much higher.
Duterte, 79, was taken into custody amid chaotic scenes at the main airport in the capital Manila after returning to the Philippines from Hong Kong on Tuesday. Interpol’s Manila office had received “the official copy of the arrest warrant from the ICC” on Tuesday morning, according to a statement from the Presidential Communications Office.
“Upon his (Duterte’s) arrival, the Prosecutor General filed an ICC notification for an arrest warrant against the former President for crimes against humanity,” the statement said, adding that Duterte is currently in the custody of authorities. Duterte questioned the basis for the warrant.
“What is the law and what is the crime that I committed?” he said in a video posted online by his daughter Veronica “Kitty” Duterte.
Credit: ABCNEWS