A general view of the exterior of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)2025-03-12T10:16:35Z THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was being flown to the Netherlands on Wednesday to face an International Criminal Court charge of crimes against humanity linked to the deadly crackdown on drugs he oversaw while in office.The 79-year-old Dutertes arrest Tuesday on a warrant issued by the global court was hailed by human rights groups and families of victims as a major breakthrough and step toward ending impunity. A general view of the exterior of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana) A general view of the exterior of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Flight tracking data showed that after leaving Manila, the jet carrying Duterte waited for hours in Dubai before taking off again, apparently headed for Rotterdam The Hague Airport. The court didnt immediately comment on the flight, but Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Tuesday that police arrested Duterte when he returned from a trip to Hong Kong and sent him to the ICC. A plane carrying former President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague takes off in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) A plane carrying former President Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague takes off in Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte rush to the fence of the Villamor Air Base in Manila, Philippines, Wednesday March 11, 2025, upon learning that the plane taking the ex-president to The Hague has left the airport. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon) Supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte rush to the fence of the Villamor Air Base in Manila, Philippines, Wednesday March 11, 2025, upon learning that the plane taking the ex-president to The Hague has left the airport. (AP Photo/Gerard Carreon) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More When he arrives in the Netherlands, he will be taken to the courts detention unit inside a Dutch prison complex near the North Sea coast. A general view of one of the entrances to the International Criminal Court detention center near The Hague in Scheveningen, Netherlands, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana) A general view of one of the entrances to the International Criminal Court detention center near The Hague in Scheveningen, Netherlands, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A general view of one of the entrances to the International Criminal Court detention center near The Hague in Scheveningen, Netherlands, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana) A general view of one of the entrances to the International Criminal Court detention center near The Hague in Scheveningen, Netherlands, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Rights groups and families of victims welcomed the arrest.This is a monumental and long-overdue step for justice for thousands of victims and their families, said Jerrie Abella of Amnesty International. It is therefore a hopeful sign for them, as well, in the Philippines and beyond, as it shows that suspected perpetrators of the worst crimes, including government leaders, will face justice wherever they are in the world, Abella added. Emily Soriano, the mother of a victim of the crackdowns, said she wanted more officials to face justice.Duterte is lucky he has due process, but our children who were killed did not have due process, she said. Llore Pasco wipes tears behind pictures of her sons who were victims of alleged extra-judicial killings as she attends a press conference a day after the arrest of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte in Quezon City, Philippines on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Llore Pasco wipes tears behind pictures of her sons who were victims of alleged extra-judicial killings as she attends a press conference a day after the arrest of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte in Quezon City, Philippines on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Relatives hold pictures of victims of alleged extra-judicial killings during a press conference a day after the arrest of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte in Quezon City, Philippines on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Relatives hold pictures of victims of alleged extra-judicial killings during a press conference a day after the arrest of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte in Quezon City, Philippines on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Relatives hold pictures of victims of alleged extra-judicial killings in front of a picture arrested former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte with a sign that says "Jail Duterte" during a press conference in Quezon City, Philippines on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Relatives hold pictures of victims of alleged extra-judicial killings in front of a picture arrested former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte with a sign that says "Jail Duterte" during a press conference in Quezon City, Philippines on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Dutertes supporters, however, criticized his arrest as illegal and sought to have him returned home. Small groups of Duterte supporters and people who backed his arrest demonstrated on Wednesday outside the court before his arrival.The ICC investigationThe ICC opened an inquiry in 2021 into mass killings linked to the so-called war on drugs overseen by Duterte when he served as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president.Estimates of the death toll during Dutertes presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported and up to 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.ICC judges who looked at prosecution evidence supporting their request for his arrest found reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Duterte is individually responsible for the crime against humanity of murder as an indirect co-perpetrator for having allegedly overseen the killings when he was mayor of Davao and later president of the Philippines, according to his warrant. What happens next?Within days of being taken into custody at the courts detention center, Duterte will be taken to court for a hearing. Judges will confirm his identity, check that he understands the charges against him and set a date for a hearing known as a confirmation of charges at which a panel of pretrial judges will assess if prosecutors have sufficient evidence to merit sending him to a full trial.Duterte could challenge the courts jurisdiction and the admissibility of the case. While the Philippines is no longer a member of the ICC, the alleged crimes happened before Manila withdrew from the court.That process will likely take months and if the case progresses to trial it could take years. Duterte will be able to apply for provisional release from the courts detention center while he waits, though its up to judges to decide whether to grant such a request.Dutertes legal counsel, Salvador Panelo, told reporters in Manila that the Philippine Supreme Court can compel the government to bring back the person arrested and detained without probable cause and compel the government bring him before the court and to explain to them why they (government) did what they did. Salvador Panelo, former presidential spokesman and chief presidential legal counsel of Philippine former President Rodrigo Duterte, shows a copy of the Habeas Corpus petition before filing it at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 11, 2025 in Manila, Philippines (AP Photo/Noel Celis) Salvador Panelo, former presidential spokesman and chief presidential legal counsel of Philippine former President Rodrigo Duterte, shows a copy of the Habeas Corpus petition before filing it at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, March 11, 2025 in Manila, Philippines (AP Photo/Noel Celis) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Marcos said Tuesday that Dutertes arrest was proper and correct and not an act of political persecution. Dutertes daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, criticized the Marcos administration for surrendering her father to a foreign court which currently has no jurisdiction to the Philippines.The Philippines is no longer a member state of the ICCDuterte withdrew the Philippines in 2019 from the ICC, in a move human rights activists say was aimed at escaping accountability.The Duterte administration moved to suspend the global courts investigation in late 2021 by arguing that Philippine authorities were already looking into the same allegations, arguing that the ICC a court of last resort therefore didnt have jurisdiction.Appeals judges at the ICC rejected those arguments and ruled in 2023 that the investigation could resume.The ICC judges who issued the warrant also said that the alleged crimes fall within the courts jurisdiction. They said Dutertes arrest was necessary because of what they called the risk of interference with the investigations and the security of witnesses and victims. ___Aleksandar Furtula in The Hague, Joeal Calupitan and Basilio Sepe in Manila, Philippines, and Jerry Harmer in Bangkok, contributed to this report.