Ex-Philippine president Duterte bound for Hague after ICC arrest over drug war

MANILA: A plane carrying former Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte left Manila bound for The Hague on Tuesday night following his arrest on an International Criminal Court warrant tied to his deadly war on drugs, President Ferdinand Marcos said.

The 79-year-old faces a charge of “the crime against humanity of murder”, according to the ICC, for a crackdown that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.

“Former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte took off at 11:03 pm this evening and exited Philippine airspace,” Marcos told a press briefing shortly after takeoff. “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.”

Duterte was arrested at Manila´s international airport on Tuesday after “Interpol Manila received the official copy of the warrant of the arrest from the ICC”, the presidential palace said in a morning statement.

Before his evening departure, Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte said her father was being “forcibly taken to The Hague”. “This is not justice -- this is oppression and persecution,” she said in a statement. Duterte had earlier taken to social media to say he believed the Philippine Supreme Court would step in and prevent his transfer.