Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrested at airport on ICC warrant for crime against humanity
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The 79-year-old former leader was taken into custody at the Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday

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Published March 11, 2025 12:23am EDT | Updated March 11, 2025 5:37am EDT

 was arrested at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday following an order from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating a crime against humanity case filed against the former leader.

Duterte, 79, was taken into custody at the airport in the Philippines following his trip to Hong Kong, The Associated Press reports.

The ICC has been investigating "massive killings that happened under the former president's deadly crackdown against illegal drugs," The AP said via President Ferdinand Marcos' office.

"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 office said. "He's now in the custody of authorities."





The 79-year-old former leader was taken into custody at the Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the Philippines on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Vernon Yuen)

Sen. Bong Go, an ally of the former president, told reporters at the airport that lawyers, aides and a doctor were not allowed to come near Duterte after he was taken into custody, describing it as a "violation of his constitutional right."

The warrant from the ICC, which was issued on March 7, stated that Duterte's arrest was necessary "to ensure his appearance before the court" since he was expected to ignore a court summons, The AP reported after viewing a copy of the document.

It also said "there are reasonable grounds to believe that" the attack on victims "was both widespread and systematic: the attack took place over a period of several years and thousands  people appear to have been killed," according to the outlet.

Duterte was also described as continuing to "wield considerable power" despite no longer being president.



Security officers patrolled the Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the Philippines on Tuesday following the former president's public arrest. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)



Randy delos Santos, whose nephew was killed by police in 2017 during an  said Duterte's arrest is a "big, long-awaited day for justice."

"Now we feel that justice is rolling. We hope that top police officials and the hundreds of police officers who were involved in the illegal killings should also be placed in custody and punished," delos Santos told The AP.

Three of the police officers involved in his teenage nephew's death were convicted in 2018, prompting Duterte to temporarily suspend his  Families of other people killed during Duterte's campaign sought out the ICC for help after fears that justice would not be served in the Philippines.



The 79-year-old former leader was taken into custody at the Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport in the Philippines on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Vernon Yuen)



The former president was first investigated by the ICC in November 2011 for crimes against humanity when he was the mayor of the city of Davao. Drug killings under his leadership were investigated until March 16, 2019.

The Duterte administration attempted to suspend the ICC's investigation in 2021 by claiming that Philippine authorities were looking into the same allegations. It also argued that the court didn't have jurisdiction to investigate.

Appeals judges rejected Duterte's objections in 2023 and  could begin again.

_The Associated Press contributed to this report._
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