Philippines' Duterte won't cooperate with ICC investigation into drug war killings
15 June 2021
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte "will not cooperate" with an International Criminal Court investigation into his government's deadly nationwide crackdown on drugs, his spokesperson said Tuesday, per Reuters.
Why it matters: Official government data shows more than 6,100 people have died in police drug operations in the Philippines since Duterte took office in 2016, but rights groups say the figure is likely to be much higher.
Driving the news: Outgoing ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda launched a preliminary inquiry in 2018 into Duterte and his war in drugs following allegations of crimes against humanity.
- Now, she has asked for judicial authorization to proceed with a full investigation.
- "I have determined that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the crime against humanity of murder has been committed on the territory of the Philippines between 1 July 2016 and 16 March 2019 in the context of the Government of Philippines 'war on drugs' campaign," Bensouda said in a statement.
What they're saying: Duterte's spokesperson Harry Roque told a news conference the Philippine government wouldn't cooperate because the country was no longer a member of the ICC, Reuters reports.
- "We do not need foreigners to investigate killings in the drug war because the legal system is working in the Philippines," Roque said, according to Reuters, calling the investigation "legally erroneous and politically motivated."
What to watch: British lawyer Karim Khan is due to take over as the ICC's chief prosecutor on Wednesday.
Go deeper: How Duterte's bloody drug war engulfed the Philippines
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.