Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was taken into custody by the International Criminal Court on Wednesday following his arrest in Manila on murder charges linked to his “war on drugs” in which thousands of purported dealers and users were killed.
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The ICC said in a statement Duterte was “surrendered to the custody of the International Criminal Court. He was arrested by the authorities of the Republic of the Philippines … for charges of murder as a crime against humanity”.
The 79-year-old arrived at Rotterdam airport on a chartered plane earlier on Wednesday. He will be brought before an ICC judge in The Hague in the coming days for an initial appearance, the statement said. He was transferred to a detention unit on the Dutch coast.
Duterte, who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, will face allegations of crimes against humanity for overseeing death squads in his anti-drugs crackdown. He could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial there.
The ICC arrest warrant says that as president, Duterte created, funded and armed the death squads that carried out murders of purported drug users and dealers.
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Speaking in a video shot during his arrest in Manila on Tuesday, Duterte asked: “What is the basis for my detention? What is the crime committed?”