Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has been detained under an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over a crackdown on drugs that resulted in thousands of deaths in the south-east Asian country.
Duterte, 79, was arrested in Manila on Tuesday immediately on his return from a trip to Hong Kong, the communications office of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in a statement.
Police arrested Duterte after Interpol Manila received the official copy of the arrest warrant issued by the ICC alleging crimes against humanity, Marcos’s office said.
Duterte, who served as president from 2016 to 2022, launched a crackdown on illicit narcotics shortly after taking office. The campaign, which targeted suspected drug dealers and users, led to the deaths of thousands of mostly poor Filipinos and raised global alarm over extrajudicial killings.
At least 6,200 Filipinos were killed in the crackdown, according to the Philippine government, but rights groups say the official toll underestimates the number of lives lost.
A 2022 report by UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights put the death toll at 8,663, based on official figures, although it also noted that other groups have put the total at more than triple that number.
In a video posted by his daughter Veronica Duterte on social media on Tuesday, the former president questioned the legality of his arrest.
“What is the law and what is the crime I have committed? Show to me now the legal basis for my being here,” he said. “Apparently I was brought here not of my own volition.”
The ICC began a preliminary investigation in 2018 into allegations of extrajudicial killings during the course of the anti-drug operations.
Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC once the probe began, but under Marcos, who succeeded Duterte as president, Manila indicated it would co-operate with the court.
The two powerful political families are engaged in a bitter feud. Duterte’s daughter Sara serves as Marcos’s vice-president.
Last year, Sara Duterte said she had hired an assassin to kill Marcos, though she has since tried to walk back those comments. An impeachment motion has been filed against her over the threat.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings