Online harassment surges against drug war victims' families post-Duterte arrest

An ecumenical human rights group, Rise Up for Life and for Rights, reported a surge in online harassment against families of extrajudicial killing victims from the previous administration's drug war following former President Rodrigo Duterte's arrest.

The group noted an increase in hate speech, threats, and misinformation targeting women who have spoken out about the killings of their loved ones, with some attacks described as a 'mercenary troll army' by human rights group Karapatan.

Rise Up attributed this spike to supporters of Duterte defending him online and engaging in 'character assassination' against ICC judges and victims' relatives, while international law expert Joel Butuyan warned that such harassment could affect the ICC's decision on Duterte's interim release.

Duterte was arrested at Manila airport on March 11 through an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and arrived in The Hague, Netherlands on March 12, facing charges of crimes against humanity for at least 43 killings linked to his presidency.

The Philippine government acknowledged the spread of misinformation linked to Duterte's arrest and is working with law enforcement agencies to track down those spreading fake news.