“KILL ALL OF YOU”
As he landed in The Hague, the former leader 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”.
In his application for arrest, the prosecutor quotes from some of Duterte’s more colourful pronouncements when he was running for president.
He is cited as saying the number of criminal suspects killed “will become 100,000 … I will kill all of you” and the fish in Manila Bay “will become fat because that’s where I will throw you”.
Duterte has undergone health checks during his detention in The Hague.
The Philippines embassy in The Hague said on its website the former president told a consular official he had “received medical care and that he is generally fine”.
At the initial hearing, a suspect can request interim release pending a trial, according to ICC rules.
Following that first hearing, the next phase is a session to confirm the charges, at which point a suspect can challenge the prosecutor’s evidence.
Only after that hearing will the court decide whether to press ahead with a trial, a process that could take several months or even years.
Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan 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 in a statement following Duterte’s arrival in ICC custody.
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