Rodrigo Duterte at ICC hearing in The Hague by video link

Rodrigo Duterte at ICC hearing in The Hague by video link and become the first Asian former leader to appear before the international criminal court, where he stands accused of committing crimes against humanity during his notorious “war on drugs” which is estimated to have killed as many as 30,000 people.

The ex-president of the Philippines, who was in office from 2016 to 2022, was arrested in Manila on an ICC warrant early on Tuesday, put on a government-chartered jet hours later, and arrived in The Hague the following day. The 79-year-old politician was allowed to follow Friday’s proceedings via video link from a detention centre after the presiding judge, Iulia Motoc, noted that he had endured “a long journey with considerable time difference”.

Medialdea said Duterte would be unable to contribute to the proceedings because of what he termed his client’s “debilitating medical issues”. But Motoc said the court doctor who had examined Duterte was of the opinion that he was “fully mentally aware and fit”.

The judge set a pre-trial hearing date of 23 September to establish whether the prosecution’s evidence is strong enough to send the case to trial. If a trial does go ahead, it could take years, and if Duterte is convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Duterte was arrested amid dramatic scenes three days ago. Despite threatening a police general with lawsuits, refusing to be fingerprinted and telling officers “you have to kill me to bring me to The Hague”, he eventually boarded the plane that arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday. Duterte became president nine years ago after promising a merciless, bloody crackdown that would rid the country of drugs.

On the campaign trail he once said there would be so many bodies dumped in Manila Bay that fish would grow fat from feeding on them. After taking office, he publicly stated he would kill suspected drug dealers, and urged the public to kill addicts. Estimates of the death toll under his administration rule vary: the national police put the number at 6,000 people, while human rights groups claim the true figure is five times higher. Most of the victims were men in poor, urban areas who were gunned down in the streets.