Rodrigo Duterte has become the first Asian former leader to appear before the international criminal court, where he stands accused of committing crimes against humanity during his notorious “war on drugs” which is estimated to have killed as many as 30,000 people.
The ex-president of the Philippines, who was in office from 2016 to 2022, was arrested in Manila on an ICC warrant early on Tuesday, put on a government-chartered jet hours later, and arrived in The Hague the following day.
The 79-year-old politician was allowed to follow Friday’s proceedings via video link from a detention centre after the presiding judge, Iulia Motoc, noted that he had endured “a long journey with considerable time difference”.
Appearing before the court shortly before 3pm local time, Duterte was informed of the crimes he is alleged to have committed, as well as his rights as a defendant. Sounding frail and wearing a blue suit and tie, he spoke briefly to confirm his name and date of birth.
Duterte’s lawyer, Salvador Medialdea, told the court that his client had been “abducted from his country”, adding: “He was summarily transported to The Hague. To lawyers it’s extrajudicial rendition. For less legal minds it’s pure and simple kidnapping.”
Medialdea also said Duterte would be unable to contribute to the proceedings because of what he termed his client’s “debilitating medical issues”. But Motoc said the court doctor who had examined Duterte was of the opinion that he was “fully mentally aware and fit”.
The judge set a pre-trial hearing date of 23 September to establish whether the prosecution’s evidence is strong enough to send the case to trial. If a trial does go ahead, it could take years, and if Duterte is convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Duterte was arrested amid dramatic scenes three days ago. Despite threatening a police general with lawsuits, refusing to be fingerprinted and telling officers “you have to kill me to bring me to The Hague”, he eventually boarded the plane that arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday.
As he landed in The Hague, the former leader was calm and appeared to accept responsibility for his actions, saying in a Facebook video: “I have been telling the police, the military, that it was my job and I am responsible.”
His arrest came amid a spectacular breakdown in relations between his family and the Marcos family, who had previously joined forces to run the Philippines.
The current president, Ferdinand Marcos, and the vice-president, Sara Duterte – who is Rodrigo’s daughter – are at loggerheads, with the latter facing an impeachment trial over charges including an alleged assassination plot against Marcos.
Sara Duterte travelled to the Netherlands to support her father, whose arrest she has described as “oppression and persecution”. The Duterte family had sought an emergency injunction from the supreme court to stop his transfer.
Speaking to supporters and reporters outside the court on Friday morning, she said she was hoping to visit her father and to have the hearing moved. “We are praying and hoping that the court will grant our request to move the initial appearance just so that we can properly sit down with the former president and discuss the legal strategies since we haven’t talked to him yet,” she told Agence France-Presse.
Duterte became president nine years ago after promising a merciless, bloody crackdown that would rid the country of drugs. On the campaign trail he once said there would be so many bodies dumped in Manila Bay that fish would grow fat from feeding on them. After taking office, he publicly stated he would kill suspected drug dealers, and urged the public to kill addicts.
Estimates of the death toll under his administration rule vary: the national police put the number at 6,000 people, while human rights groups claim the true figure is five times higher. Most of the victims were men in poor, urban areas who were gunned down in the streets.
Even as his tactics provoked international horror, he remained highly popular at home throughout his presidency. While his arrest has been celebrated by rights groups and the families of the victims of the “war on drugs”, it has also prompted some protests in his strongholds of Mindanao and the Visayas.
Duterte, who appeared before a senate inquiry into the drugs war killings last year, said he offered “no apologies, no excuses” for his policies, saying: “I did what I had to do, and whether you believe it or not, I did it for my country.”
Campaigners and victims of his crackdowns hope that Duterte’s arrest will finally result in him facing justice for his alleged crimes.
Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Amnesty International’s south-east Asia researcher, said Friday’s hearing proved that no one was above the law.
“The very institution that former President Duterte mocked will now try him for murder as a crime against humanity,” she said. “This is a symbolic moment and a day of hope for families of victims and human rights defenders who have for years fought tirelessly for justice despite grave risks to their lives and safety.”
The ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, has hailed Duterte’s arrest as a key moment for victims and international justice as a whole.
“Many say that international law is not as strong as we want, and I agree with that. But as I also repeatedly emphasise, international law is not as weak as some may think,” Khan said. “When we come together … when we build partnerships, the rule of law can prevail.”
With Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse
