Former Philippine President Rodrigo Davorte has been arrested on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating the allegations that “crimes against humanity” were committed during his so -called “war against drugs”.
According to the Philippines government, Dortha was detained at Manila Airport on Tuesday after his arrival from Hong Kong, which received an ICC request from the International Police Agency Interpol.
The government said in a statement, “After his arrival, the Prosecutor General served the ICC notification for the arrest warrant of the former president for crimes against humanity.” “Now he is in the custody of the authorities.”
According to the complaint, the allegation is related to Dyaret’s brutal anti -drag drive, which he run during his position from 2016 to 2022. According to the complaint, the suspects were deprived of “proper action under the law” and thousands of people, including children, died.
The former president questioned the legal status of arrest.
“What is the law and what have I committed?” Dawort said in a video uploaded on social media by his daughter, Veronica Dwarta.
“I now explain the legal basis for being here, as I was apparently brought here, not by my own. It is someone else’s,” he added.
In a speech in Hong Kong on Saturday, he defended his actions as president, saying that he “did everything for the Filipino people …”
According to police records, more than 7,000 people were killed in anti -drug operations during the six -year presidency of Dort.
However, human rights supporters have claimed that the number of casualties is more than 30,000, including those who were killed by unknown suspects, some of whom later became police officers.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called Dorta’s arrest “an important step for accountability in the Philippines”.
“His arrest can bring the victims and their families closer to justice, and it sends a clear message that no one is above the law. The Marcus government should quickly hand it over to the ICC,” said Broni Lao, the deputy Asia deputy HRW deputy.
The ICC started reviewing the complaint in 2018.
Despite Manila’s decision to withdraw as a sign of Rome’s law, the arrest order is viewed as the victory of human rights campaigns and families of victims.
During his presidency, the Dawort declared an infinite war against drugs, which was encouraged by police officers to “shoot and kill” drugs, or encourage them to fight the use of deadly force.
Most cases of the ICC were investigated between 2016 and 2019, when a Dort order for withdrawal from the ICC came into force.
Earlier, the alleged crime was committed when the Dawort was the mayor of the southern city of Daoo, where he served for two decades, which was also investigated.
Among those killed during the anti -drug campaign were more than a dozen Town Mayors and other local officials as well as lawyers and judges.
Many children, who have no connection to drug activity, were also killed. The government rejected the deaths as a “suicide attack”.
The ICC investigation into anti -drug operations had enraged the Dawort so much that it had ordered Manila to withdraw from the ICC.
He also threatened to use racial charged language, to arrest the then ICC prosecutor Fatu Bansoda, when he visited the Philippines for a government investigation.
Bansoda retired in 2021 and then Karim Khan replaced him, which continued to investigate.
Rome’s law, an international agreement that established the ICC to monitor genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression crimes, was implemented in 2002. The Philippines actually confirmed it in 2011.
