Former President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, got involved in a 12-hour standoff with the country’s police, saying, “You will have to kill me to bring me to The Hague”. The whole saga played out shortly after he was arrested under the order of the International Criminal Court.
A Philippine police general said that the 79-year-old refused to have his fingerprints taken after the arrest and even threatened Police Major General Nicolas Torre with lawsuits, Sky News reported. The whole tussle unfolded before the former president was bundled onto a government-chartered jet at a Philippine air base and was taken to The Hague in the Netherlands.
Duterte has been detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity. He was being investigated over his alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings during his war on drugs. He is currently placed at a court’s detention centre near the Dutch North Sea coast after he underwent medical checks.
Duterte to make his first appearance at ICC
Duterte will be making his first appearance at the ICC on Friday. During his time in office, Duterte ran a brutal anti-crime crackdown and made several colourful outbursts, calling Pope Francis a “son of a bi**h”. He also garnered backlash for saying US President Barack Obama could “go to hell”.
His arrests have divided the opinions of human rights groups celebrating, and his supporters, blaming the government for surrendering a “ key political rival” to a court. The former Philippine premier was arrested on Tuesday after he arrived at Manila’s international airport from Hong Kong with his partner, daughter and friends.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/world/you-will-have-to-kill-me-ex-philippine-president-engaged-in-12-hour-standoff-before-heading-to-icc-13871424.html.
