Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested today on a warrant from the International Criminal Court, accusing him of crimes against humanity over the deadly anti-drug crackdowns he oversaw while in office.
The Philippine government said Mr Duterte was taken into custody at Manila International Airport after arriving from Hong Kong with his family, becoming the first former Asian leader to be arrested by the global court. He was later driven to the nearby Villamor Air Base. Former President Duterte protested his arrest upon arrival and asked authorities for the legal basis of his detention. His lawyers immediately petitioned the Supreme Court in Manila to block any attempt to transport him out of the Philippines to be handed over to the ICC in Europe.
Speaking to reporters, Senator Bong Go, a close ally of the former Philippine president, termed his arrest a violation of his constitutional rights. The ICC has been investigating mass killings in crackdowns overseen by Mr Duterte when he served as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president.
Estimates of the death toll from the crackdown under former President Duterte range from more than six thousand, as reported by the national police, to as many as thirty thousand, according to human rights groups.
