ICC prosecutors charge Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity

The International Criminal Court prosecutors have charged former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders as part of his "war on drugs."

A heavily redacted charge sheet dated July 4 but only made public on Monday lays out the accusations against the 80-year-old former leader, currently sitting in ICC detention in The Hague.

The first count concerns his alleged involvement as a co-perpetrator in 19 murders carried out between 2013 and 2016 while Duterte was mayor of Davao City.

The second count relates to 14 murders of so-called "High Value Targets" in 2016 and 2017 when Duterte was president.

ICC prosecutors allege there were 'thousands of killings'

And the third charge is about 43 murders committed during "clearance" operations of lower-level alleged drug users or pushers.

These took place across the Philippines between 2016 and 2018, the prosecution alleged.

"The actual scale of victimisation during the charged period was significantly greater, as reflected in the widespread nature of the attack," said the ICC prosecutors.

"The attack included thousands of killings, which were perpetrated consistently throughout the charged period," they alleged.

Arrest warrant