He had thousands of people killed: Ex-President Duterte arrested

By Girlie Linao, Nick Kaiser

Manila/The Hague - Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (79) has been arrested for alleged crimes against humanity.

An Interpol arrest warrant had been issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, according to the Southeast Asian country's presidential office.

According to the report, the 79-year-old was arrested by Philippine police after arriving from Hong Kong at the international airport in the capital Manila.

A video shown on television is said to show the moment of his arrest on an airplane. In it, Duterte can allegedly be heard shouting at the police officers: "You'll have to kill me."

A second video appears to show him with a walking stick at the airport being escorted by police.

The prosecutors of the International Criminal Court suspect Duterte of numerous murders in the so-called "war on drugs". He is said to have been responsible for the systematic killing of thousands of people. The court in The Hague has not yet published the arrest warrant.

The International Criminal Court has been investigating the murders in the island state since 2018. Duterte then announced his country's withdrawal from the court's basic treaty. However, the court remains responsible for prosecuting criminal offenses until 2019, when the withdrawal became legally binding.

Duterte's arrest does not automatically mean that the ex-president will now be handed over to the court in The Hague. The country is also not obliged to do so, as it is no longer a state party.

Duterte was in power from 2016 to 2022 and is particularly controversial for his brutal war on drug-related crime. According to the police, more than 6,000 people were killed in anti-drug operations during his time in office.

Human rights activists are convinced that the true figure is much higher. Suspects were often not dealt with according to the rule of law, but were executed without arrest, charge or conviction.