Former Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte was on his way to the The Hague on Tuesday night, hours after being arrested at the request of the International Criminal Court as part of its probe into a "war on drugs" that defined his presidency.
The 79-year-old strongman and former prosecutor, who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.
His arrest marks the biggest step yet in the ICC's probe into alleged crimes against humanity during an anti-drugs crackdown that killed thousands and drew condemnation around the world.
It is alleged his administration oversaw the execution of around 4,000 people during anti-drug operations in the country. Most of those killed were poor Filipinos living in urban areas. Human rights groups have long said that the actual number of dead could be far higher.
"The plane is en route to the Hague, in the Netherlands, allowing the former president to face charges of crimes against humanity in relation to his bloody war on drugs," Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr told a press conference.
"We did not help the International Criminal Court in any way. The arrest was made in compliance with Interpol."
The war on drugs was the signature campaign platform that swept to power the mercurial crimebuster nicknamed "the punisher", who soon delivered on promises he made during vitriolic speeches that thousands of drug pushers would be killed.
His detention follows years of him rebuking and taunting the ICC in profanity-laden speeches since he unilaterally withdrew the Philippines from the court's founding treaty in 2019 as it started looking into allegations of systematic murders of drug dealers on his watch.
The ICC, a court of last resort, says it has jurisdiction to investigate alleged crimes that took place while a country was a member.
Mr Duterte’s surprise arrest sparked chaos at Ninoy Aquino airport as his aides and lawyers protested against the execution of the warrant.
Salvador Panelo, Mr Duterte’s legal aide, said the Interpol arrest warrant came from “a spurious source”, maintaining that the ICC had no jurisdiction in the country.
The ICC has insisted it does have jurisdiction to prosecute alleged crimes which were committed in the Philippines before the country withdrew from the international court.
Mr Duterte won the presidency by a wide margin in 2016 after pledging to eradicate illegal drugs and crime with an unprecedented crackdown. Polls at the time showed broad support for him and for the crackdown despite allegations of summary killings resulting from weak intelligence and cover-ups by police.
Mr Duterte has denied the allegations and said the drugs problem was a national security issue.
The ICC launched an investigation against Mr Duterte in 2011 when he was still mayor of the southern city of Davao. Mr Duterte withdrew from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, in 2019. Critics of the then president condemned the move as an attempt to evade accountability.
Mr Duterte’s administration sought to halt the ICC investigation in 2021, claiming Philippine authorities were handling the matter. However, the ICC ruled in 2023 that the investigation could proceed, rejecting Mr Duterte’s objections.
The Hague court intervenes when nations fail to prosecute serious crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
President Marcos decided not to rejoin the global court when he succeeded Mr Duterte in 2022. His administration, however, said it would cooperate if the ICC asked Interpol to take Mr Duterte into custody under a Red Notice, a request for law enforcement agencies worldwide to find and temporarily arrest a criminal suspect.
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