ICC prosecutor aims to reopen Philippines drug war investigation
The court had Rights groups say authorities have summarily executed drug suspects, but police say drug dealers fought back violently.Former ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, who stepped down last year, had said during her tenure there were reasonable grounds to believe crimes against humanity had been committed during Duterte’s anti-narcotics crackdown, whose death toll has stirred international outrage.Duterte’s administration had pushed back against rights groups’ claims and the ICC’s investigation, saying the Philippines was no longer a member. Duterte canceled the Philippines’ membership of the ICC’s founding treaty in March 2018.But under the ICC’s withdrawal mechanism, the court keeps jurisdiction over crimes committed during the membership period of a state — in this case, between 2016 and 2019, when the Philippines’ pullout became official.
