The News
Police in the Philippines detained former President Rodrigo Duterte on an International Criminal Court warrant issued for his so-called ‘war on drugs’.
His daughter, the Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte, said her father was “being forcibly taken to the Hague tonight” after being arrested for crimes against humanity.
Duterte’s detention immediately sparked controversy in the Philippines, both because it is no longer a signatory to the ICC — the court argues it has jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed when the country was a member state – and because his family retains political influence there.
The Philippine news outlet Rappler, which faced widely criticized legal action under Duterte’s rule, noted dryly that the ex-leader, “who waged a war on drugs that killed as many as 27,000 suspects, bewailed alleged violation of due process” upon his arrest.