‘I will arrest you’: Rodrigo Duterte warns chief prosecutor of International Criminal Court to steer clear of Philippines

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has threatened to arrest the International Criminal Court’s (ICC’s) chief prosecutor if she conducts activities in his country, arguing it was no longer an ICC member so the court had no right to do any investigating.

Hitting out at what he said was an international effort to paint him as a “ruthless and heartless violator of human rights”, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC’s Rome Statute a month ago and promised to continue his crackdown on drugs, in which thousands have been killed.

In February the ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced the start of a preliminary examination into a complaint by a Philippine lawyer  accusing Duterte and top officials of crimes against humanity, and of killing criminals as a policy.

Duterte has cited numerous reasons why he believes the ICC has no jurisdiction over him, and on Friday suggested that any doubts about that should have been dispelled by his withdrawal.

“What is your authority now? If we are not members of the treaty, why are you … in this country?,” he told reporters in comments aimed directly at Bensouda. “You cannot exercise any proceedings here without basis. That is illegal and I will arrest you.”

It is not clear whether Bensouda or the ICC has carried out any activities in the Philippines related to the complaint against Duterte.