THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has sought authorization to open an investigation into the Philippine government’s deadly crackdown on drug crime. Fatou Bensouda said Monday that a preliminary probe “determined that there is a reasonable basis to believe that the crime against humanity of murder has been committed” in the Philippines between July 1, 2016 and March 16, 2019, the date the Philippines withdrew from the court. Bensouda said in a statement that the suspected crimes happened “in the context of the Government of Philippines ‘war on drugs’ campaign.” Judges at the global court have 120 days to issue a decision on the prosecutor’s request.
