Duterte arrested for crimes against humanity

Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte boarded a flight bound for The Hague on Tuesday night, his lawyer said, following his arrest on an International Criminal Court warrant tied to his deadly war on drugs.

The 79-year-old faces a charge of "the crime against humanity of murder", according to the ICC, for a crackdown that rights groups estimate killed tens of thousands of mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.

As of 9 pm (1300 GMT), the former president had been placed aboard an aircraft bound for the Hague, according to one of his lawyers.

Martin Delgra told a group chat open to journalists on messaging app Viber that Duterte had boarded the plane at Manila's Villamor Air Base with three others at about 9 pm (1300 GMT), adding: "We cannot go near the plane. Plane still on tarmac with door open."

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte had earlier said her father was being "forcibly taken to The Hague tonight".

"This is not justice -- this is oppression and persecution," Duterte's eldest daughter said in a statement.

A photo posted by Delgra to the same group chat showed the plane's tail number as RP-C5219.

While flight tracking site FlightRadar.com had no departure time from Manila, the plane was scheduled to leave Dubai at 2130 GMT Tuesday then head to Rotterdam.

Duterte had earlier taken to social media to say he believed the Philippine Supreme Court would step in and prevent his transfer.

"The Supreme Court will not agree to that. We do not have an extradition treaty," he said on Instagram live after his lawyers filed a petition with the court.

"What is the crime that I committed? Show to me now the legal basis of my being here," he said in a separate video on the same platform.

Duterte was arrested at the airport Tuesday morning after "Interpol Manila received the official copy of the warrant of the arrest from the ICC", the presidential palace said in a morning statement. AFP