Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to appear before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands on Friday, the court confirmed.
The 79-year-old, who arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday, faces charges of crimes against humanity linked to his “war on drugs” during his presidency, including the murder of at least 43 individuals between 2011 and 2019.
The ICC in The Hague announced that Duterte’s initial appearance would take place at 2 p.m. local time (1300 GMT), with the hearing being streamed with a 30-minute delay.
During the initial hearing, the court explained, the judges will verify Duterte’s identity, confirm the language in which he can follow the proceedings, inform him of the charges against him, and outline his rights under the ICC Rome Statute.
Duterte was detained in Manila on Tuesday under an arrest warrant issued by the ICC and flown out of the capital on a chartered flight the same day, with a stopover in Dubai. He was handed over to the ICC’s custody on Wednesday.
Serving as president from 2016 to 2022, Duterte led a brutal campaign against drug-related crimes, during which police reported around 6,000 killings, though human rights groups estimate the number could be as high as 30,000. Suspects were often executed without trial.
The arrest warrant claims there are reasonable grounds to believe Duterte was individually responsible for the murders, which may constitute crimes against humanity, both as mayor of Davao City and later as president.
It may take several months before the charges are formally examined in a preliminary hearing.
The ICC has been investigating the alleged crimes in the Philippines since 2018.
