Philippines: Ex-President Duterte handed over to the World Criminal Court

The Filipino ex-President Rodrigo Duterte was handed over to the International Criminal Court in Den Haag. The court wants to make the 79-year-old’s trial for crimes against humanity. He will be charged at least 43 murders from 2011 to 2019, during the state so -called “war against drugs”.

Duterte was arrested on Tuesday on the basis of an international arrest warrant from the Criminal Court at the Airport of the Filipino capital Manila and flown out with a charter plane. After a stopover in Dubai, he arrived at Haag/ Rotterdam at the airport late afternoon.

Dueterte was head of state to 2022 and led a merciless fight against drug crime. According to police, around 6,000 people were killed. But human rights organizations estimate that there were up to 30,000. The suspects were therefore often executed without a process.

There are “reasonable reasons” to assume that it is individually responsible for murders that can be considered crimes against humanity, according to the arrest warrant. He is said to have initially been responsible for the alleged killings as mayor of Davao and later as president.

The crimes were “part of a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population,” said chief junction Karim Khan. According to Khan, the investigation has not yet been completed. He called Duterte’s arrest “an important moment for the victims”.

At the gates of the prison in the North Sea resort of Scheveningen, dozens of supporters had been waiting for Dutertes arrival. In prison, the court has its own cell complex. There he should be examined medically.

Duertte will be brought before the judge in the next few days. In a few months, the indictment will initially be checked in a preliminary procedure.

The charges have been investigating the alleged crimes in the Philippines since 2018. The island state then announced the resignation from the basic contract of the Criminal Court. But it remains responsible for the persecution of crimes until 2019, when the resignation became final.

Duterte is the second former head of state, which the Court is invalating. The first was the ex-president of the Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo. He was acquitted in 2019.

The possible background for quick delivery could be the current political situation in the island state. Because there was a break between today’s President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the family of Duterte. His daughter Sara is Vice President, and an office procedure runs against her.