Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He is being held criminally responsible for dozens of killings allegedly committed as part of his war on drugs, the BBC reports.
The ICC prosecutor, Mame Mandiaye Niang, said that Duterte was an indirect co-perpetrator in the killings, which the court alleges were committed by others, including the police. The first charge against Duterte concerns his alleged involvement in the killings of 19 people in Davao City between 2013 and 2016, while he was mayor there.
The other two charges relate to his time as president of the Philippines, between 2016 and 2022, and the start of his war on drugs. The second charge concerns the killings of 14 "high-value targets" across the country, while the third relates to the murder and attempted murder of 45 people in village clearance operations.
According to the ICC, Duterte and his alleged co-perpetrators shared a common plan or agreement to "neutralize" alleged criminals in the Philippines through violent crimes, including murder. Duterte claims he has cracked down on drug dealers to rid the country of street crime.
Rodrigo Duterte is the first former head of state from Asia to be indicted by the ICC - and the first suspect to be taken to The Hague, Netherlands, where the court is based. He has been in custody since March 2025. His lawyer has argued that Rodrigo Duterte cannot be tried because of his poor health.
The ICC has virtually no authority to arrest people without the cooperation of the countries in which they are located, which is often refused.