Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was detained on Tuesday under an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, which accused him of crimes against humanity in connection with the brutal “war on drugs” he led while in office, the Philippines Presidential Communications Office said.
Members of the Philippine National Police met the former president as he arrived in Manila, the capital, on a flight from Hong Kong, the office said.
Duterte carried out an extensive “war on drugs” after taking office in 2016. Independent rights organizations have accused him of overseeing a crusade of extrajudicial killings, many of which were alleged to have been carried out by so-called “death squads.”
More than 12,000 people were thought to have been killed, according to Human Rights Watch.
Officials in Manila said they received a copy of an ICC arrest warrant via Interpol on Tuesday morning. Dozens of officers swarmed Ninoy Aquino International Airport to arrest Duterte as he and his aides arrived at about 9:20 a.m., the presidential office said.
“The former President and his entourage are in good health and have been examined by government doctors,” the office said in a statement posted on social media in Filipino. “They have assured that he is in good condition.”
ABC News’ Andrew Evans and Karson Yiu contributed to this report.
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