(BBC) Philippine police have arrested former president Rodrigo Duterte after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity over his deadly “war on drugs”.
Duterte was arrested by police in Manila airport shortly after his arrival from Hong Kong.
Duterte’s brutal anti-drugs crackdown, which occured when he was president of the South East Asian nation from 2016 to 2022, saw thousands of people killed. 
The 79-year-old had earlier said he was ready to go to prison, when responding to reports of his possible arrest.
The International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines called the arrest a “historic moment”.
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but today, it has bent towards justice. Duterte’s arrest is the beginning of accountability for the mass killings that defined his brutal rule,” said ICHRP Chairperson Peter Murphy.
But Duterte’s former presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo has slammed the arrest, saying it was “unlawful” as the Philippines had withdrawn from the ICC.
The ICC earlier said that it has jurisdiction in the Philippines over alleged crimes committed before the country withdrew as a member.
