Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, was arrested on Tuesday in Manila, after the International Criminal Court issued a mandate accusing him of crimes against humanity in his war on drugs in which, according to human rights groups, tens of thousands of the Philippines were summary.
According to the Philippine government, he was taken in remand to Manila’s main airport after returning from a trip to Hong Kong. Mr. Duterte’s lawyer, Salvador Panelo, said that the arrest was illegal, partly because the Philippines retired from court while Mr. Duterte was in office.
In the ICC mandate, a jury of three judges wrote that, based on the evidence submitted by the court prosecutor, he believed that the murders ordered by Mr. Duterte as mayor of the city of Davao and later as president were « both general and systematic ».
The group also said that « Mr. Duterte is individually responsible for the crime against humanity for the murder. » The New York Times won a copy of the term, which was sealed and labeled « secret ».
Duterte, 79, who resigned in 2022, is a mark of populist fire that is still one of the most influential politicians in the Philippines and has enjoyed relative immunity despite several accusations against him in relation to his anti -Drog campaign.
But the arrest of Mr. Duterte could be an important step towards accountability for thousands of the Filipinos who have spent a lot of time I was looking for justice For their loved ones, many of whom were killed by police officers, hit men And watchmen. Activists say the vast majority of victims They were poor, urban Filipino, some of whom were minors and people who had nothing to do with drug trade.
Only a good number of people have been convicted of killings, which the rights groups say they exceeded approximately 30,000.
« I am very happy that Duterte has been arrested in order to have justice, » said Cristina Jumola, whose three children died during the drug war. « We’ve waited so long. »
On Tuesday afternoon, it seemed that the Filipino government was ready to deliver Mr. Duterte, who was held at Villamor’s Air Base in Manila, at the ICC, a family official with the procedure said that a plane was ready to take Mr. Duterte to the Hague, where the court is based. But Harry Roque, a spokesman for Mr. Duterte, said that his lawyers were searching for a request to the court for the release of Mr. Duterte.
The case will be a high -profile test of the court, which in recent months has sought the arrest of the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahuand the head of the military board in Myanmar, Min Aung hlingaccusing the two men of crime against humanity.
Minutes before being arrested, Mr. Duterte was characteristically challenging.
« You should kill -me first, if you go to ally -you with white foreigners, » said Mr. Duterte as he got off the Hong Kong plane, according to A video posted by GMA NewsA Philippine station.
For years, Mr. Duterte seemed untouchable. As mayor of Davao, the second largest city in the Philippines, for more than two decades, made a fatal repression with impunity. In 2016, it decreased its law and order credentials in a victory in the presidential election, although experts said that the country did not have a problem with drugs.
At the end of the campaign that year, Mr. Duterte told the crowd to « forget the laws on human rights ».
« Drug boosters, withholding men and girls, better than come out, » he said. « Because I will kill you. » He said he would give himself to his security forces the immunity of persecution and forgive « for the crime of multiple murder. »
While in office, Mr. Duterte retired the Philippines from the CPI, who had begun to look at the extrajudicial killings.
Mr. Panelo, Mr.’s lawyer. Duterte said that the arrest was partly illegal because the Philippine police had not allowed former president’s lawyers to find him at the airport. He said he was planning to file criminal complaints against police and officials who ordered the arrest.
He added that the arrest was illegal because the detention mandate « comes from a sparkling source, the ICC, which has no jurisdiction over the Philippines. »
However, according to the mandate, the CPI judges panel wrote that the court still had jurisdiction on this topic because its investigation focused on killings that were still a member of the court. The nation is still a member of the Interpol, who may request the arrest of Mr. Duterte on behalf of the ICC, a representative of the Interpol was present when Mr. Duterte was arrested.
When Mr. Duterte’s single, six years old, he ended in 2022, his administration said 6,252 people had been killed by security forces, all described by officials as « drug suspects ».
Mr. Duterte had looked Enjoy impunity Even under his successor, Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., son of the missing dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, went to the presidency after forming a political alliance with the daughter of Mr. Duterte, Sara, who was elected as vice president. At the beginning of its administration, Mr. Marcos said he would not cooperate with the ICC
But the links between Mr. Marcos and Mrs. Duterte revealed Quickly and spectacularly. At the end of 2023, Mr. Marcos’s government had allowed ICC researchers to enter the Philippines.
Last year, the Philippine Chamber of Representatives began an investigation into the Drug War of Mr. Duterte. The former president refused to testify in the house but appeared to Audience to the Senatewhere he has considerable support, in October.
« For all his successes and shortcomings, I, and I alone, assume all legal responsibility, » he said about the Anti -Drug campaign. « For the whole police, he did so according to my orders, I will be responsible. It should be the only imprisoned, not the police who obeyed my orders. It’s unfortunate, they are just doing their job. « »
Marlise Simons Reports provided from Paris.
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