ICC says former Philippine President Duterte held in Scheveningen detention center

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) – International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday said that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is held at a detention center in Scheveningen, a district in The Hague.

Duterte's former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea earlier claimed that he and Duterte’s camp have no information about the whereabouts of the former president.

ICC spokesman Fadi El Abdallah told reporters that Duterte was detained on Thursday following “all medical checks,” which he said is a standard procedure for all suspects under custody.

Medialdea, who and travelled with Duterte to The Hague, had claimed that the whereabouts of the former president was not known.

Duterte was put on a chartered flight to The Hague on Tuesday to face trial after he was arrested at Manila International Airport upon his arrival from Hong Kong.

Duterte, who led the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, could become the first Asian former head of state to go on trial at the ICC.

In a previous statement, the ICC, said it found “reasonable grounds to believe that Duterte "is individually responsible as an indirect co-perpetrator for the crime against humanity of murder," allegedly committed in the Philippines between November 2011 and March 2019.

Duterte's "war on drugs" is said to have killed thousands of small-time drug dealers, users and others without trial.