Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested at Manila’s international airport Tuesday on order of the International Criminal Court in connection with a case of crime against humanity filed against him, the Philippine government said.
Duterte was arrested after arriving from Hong Kong and police took him into custody on orders of the ICC, which has been investigating the mass killings that happened under the former president’s deadly crackdown against illegal drugs, President Ferdinand Marcos’ office said in a statement.
“Upon his arrival, the prosecutor general served the ICC notification for an arrest warrant to the former president for the crime of crime against humanity,” the government said. “He’s now in the custody of authorities.”
The surprise arrest sparked a commotion at the airport when lawyers and Duterte aides loudly protested that they, along with a doctor and lawyers, were prevented from coming close to him after he was taken into police custody. “This is a violation of his constitutional right,” Sen. Bong Go, a close Duterte ally, told reporters.
Duterte’s former lawyer and spokesperson, Salvador Panelo, asserted in a statement that the warrant came from “a spurious source,” since the ICC has no jurisdiction in the Philippines, the Reuters news agency reported.
The ICC says it has jurisdiction there over alleged crimes committed before the country withdrew as a member.
