‘Go find a court for monsters’: Duterte lashes out at ICC ‘idiots’
The International Criminal Court (ICC) consists of idiots, tough-talking Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte said, launching another attack on the body, which is targeting his “war on drugs.”
Speaking in Papua New Guinea on Friday, the Philippines president refused to recognize the authority of the ICC, adding it is a mere “creation” of the European Union, hungry to spread its “international governance.”
So why would I allow myself to be tried by a few idiot human beings in this world?
Duterte has been long on the radar of human rights groups and the ICC for his controversial anti-drug operation in which 4,000 alleged drug dealers have been killed.
However, a report submitted to the ICC said the death toll was more than 8,000, triggering a preliminary probe against the president and high-profile officials for “crimes against humanity.”
As usual, Duterte did not mince words.
“[They say Duterte] ‘is a monster.’ So I’m not included in human rights. Find a court for monsters,” he told a Filipino audience, referring to the rights group’s allegations against him.
The president has repeatedly used strong language in speaking about the ICC probe and the judges. In October, he said there was no way he would bow down to it, and threatened to “slap all of you judges.”
In another warning to his foreign critics, the Philippines strongman said they can end up being “live human targets” if they dare to come to his country and bring their accusations.
In March, Manila announced its withdrawal from the Rome Statute, the ICC founding treaty. Duterte even threatened to arrest ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, stressing that the body has no authority over Philippines since the country is no longer its member.
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