International court backs probe into Philippines' 'war on drugs'
Human rights groups accuse Duterte of inciting deadly violence and say police have murdered unarmed drug suspects on a massive scale as part of the campaign
Reuters (UK)
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Judges at the International Criminal Court approved a formal investigation into possible crimes against humanity allegedly committed under the leadership of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in the context of his "war on drugs". The ICC said in a statement that judges had approved a request by prosecutors to begin the investigation into potential murder as a crime against humanity. Judges' assessment of material presented by prosecutors, was that "the so-called ‘war on drugs’ campaign cannot be seen as a legitimate law enforcement operation", but rather amounted to a systematic attack on civilians. (See also: Philippines: The International Criminal Court goes after Duterte’s drug war | Duterte is worried about the ICC. He should be)
