Rodrigo Duterte was brought to The Hague. What is the accusation of the former president of the Philippines

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, 79, was brought to The Hague at the request of the International Criminal Court (ICC). He was arrested in his native country on charges of crimes against humanity. He is accused of organizing extrajudicial executions during the war against drug traffickers, during which thousands of people died. The charges against the ex-head of the Philippines are based on in the Izvestia article.

How did Duterte's arrest go?

• The arrest warrant for Duterte was issued on March 7 in a classified form. It was on this day that Duterte flew to Hong Kong for a rally of the Philippine Democratic Party to campaign among his compatriots before the Senate elections. In Hong Kong, Duterte could not be arrested, as China is not a member of the ICC. The Philippines was a member of it from 2011 to 2019 and retained the obligation to extradite the accused if they are suspected of committing crimes during this period.

• Despite the secrecy of the arrest warrant, rumors began to spread in the Philippines about the possible detention of Duterte, as additional police units were deployed to the country's airports and ports. The former president traveled to Manila by plane and was arrested on March 11, after which the warrant was declassified and published.

• Duterte was taken to Villamor Air Base, where he was detained for a day. The politician's family said he was being denied medical treatment, but the Philippine government denied this. On the evening of March 11, Duterte and his lawyer boarded a plane from the Office of the President of the Philippines, which flew to Rotterdam with a refueling stop in Dubai. The next day, Duterte was taken to the UN detention center in The Hague.

• In its arrest warrant, the ICC stated that it considers Duterte's accusations of 43 murders of drug dealers and thieves, which were committed with the approval of the former President of the Philippines, to be justified. It is separately stipulated that only crimes committed during the period of the country's participation in the work of the ICC are taken into account.

• Rodrigo Duterte is running for mayor of Davao City, which he has already held in the past: elections will be held in May this year. Despite his arrest, he is still an official candidate. The country's central election commission said that the court's decision was not grounds for excluding him from the lists, and therefore Filipinos could still elect him mayor.

The beginning of Duterte's career

• Duterte comes from a family of politicians, and several of his relatives have held elected positions in various cities. He began his political career as vice Mayor of Davao City and became head of its administration in 1988. Duterte remained in charge until he was elected president of the Philippines in 2016 with two three-year breaks, one of which was his daughter Sarah.

• As mayor of Davao, Duterte became famous as an implacable opponent of crime and drugs. Under his leadership, the Davao Death Squad appeared in the city, whose members were engaged in the extrajudicial elimination of drug traffickers, petty criminals and street children. According to witnesses, members of the squadron killed suspects during the day and in crowded places, and the city police did not respond to what was happening. In total, according to human rights activists, up to 1,040 people were killed from 1998 to 2008.

• Duterte was accused of condoning the killings and inaction in the fight against the "Death Squad." He himself publicly justified his activities and personally read out the names of the criminals who were later found murdered. The politician claimed that mass executions are an effective method of combating drug trafficking. Later, after being elected president, Duterte confessed that he personally killed three drug traffickers as mayor.

Duterte at the head of the Philippines

• In 2016, Duterte was elected president of the Philippines and immediately after taking office announced the start of a war on drug traffickers, following the example of other countries in the Pacific Rim region, which also carried out campaigns with mass killings of suspects. At the same time, unlike most neighboring countries, the Philippines has a moratorium on the death penalty.

• Duterte has publicly stated that he allows citizens to kill suspected drug traffickers and allows police to shoot to kill during arrests. This call was supported by many of the president's political opponents. Already in the first months of Duterte's rule, reports began to appear of thousands of people killed by police and other law enforcement agencies. By the end of his presidential term in 2022, 6,252 deaths and the arrest of more than 345,000 people involved in drug trafficking were officially announced. Human rights organizations claim that between 12,000 and 30,000 people died.

Duterte's actions have caused outrage in Western countries. In response to the US threat to cut off arms supplies, he refocused his foreign policy on cooperation with Russia and China. In 2017, the first complaint against Duterte was filed with the ICC and a preliminary investigation was launched. He often accused his opponents inside the country of drug trafficking.

• Duterte left the presidency in 2022 with an approval rating of 88%. He no longer held an official post, focusing on the political support of his supporters and relatives. Duterte participated in investigations of extrajudicial killings initiated by the Philippine Senate and confessed to leading the Davao Death Squad to fight crime. He also claimed that he was ready to appear before the ICC.