Former Philippine head of state Rodrigo Duterte is accused of leading a deadly crackdown on drug traffickers starting in 2016, justifying extrajudicial executions.
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared Monday April 15 that he will not hand over his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte to the International Criminal Court (ICC), in the midst of an investigation into his campaign of deadly repression against drug trafficking in the archipelago. “We do not recognize the order they will send us. It’s no”the leader said during a meeting with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.
Thousands of people have been killed in the war on drugs launched by former President Duterte in 2016, and which continues under President Ferdinand Marcos. According to the ICC, these operations and the clemency of the Philippine authorities could constitute crimes against humanity. Rodrigo Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC in 2019 after the court based in The Hague, Netherlands, began investigating allegations of human rights violations committed during his war on drugs. The current Philippine president has repeatedly ruled out rejoining the ICC.