The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor said on Friday that he would seek a reopening of the investigation into the murders and other suspected rights abuses during former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Action on drugs.
the court postponed the investigation At Manila’s request in November, Philippine authorities cited their own investigation into the killings. Governments can ask the ICC to adjourn a case if they are pursuing their investigation and trial for similar acts.
“After a careful and thorough review of all information provided by the Philippines as well as other publicly available information … I have concluded that the adjournment requested by the Philippines is not warranted, and that the investigation should be re-examined as soon as possible.” must begin,” prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement.
From the time Duterte took office in 2016 to the end of April 2021, security forces killed 6,117 drug dealers in sting operations, according to Philippine government data.
Rights groups say officers have summarily killed drug suspects, but police say drug dealers fought violently.
Former ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who stepped down last year, said during his tenure there were reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity were committed during Duterte’s crackdown on narcotics, His death sparked international outrage.
Duterte’s administration pushed back against claims by rights groups and an ICC investigation, saying the Philippines was no longer a member. Duterte revoked the Philippines’ membership of the ICC’s founding treaty in March 2018.
But under the ICC’s withdrawal mechanism, the court has jurisdiction over offenses committed during a state’s membership period – in this case, between 2016 and 2019, when the Philippines’ pullout became official.