India, Feb. 24 -- The International Criminal Court began pre-trial hearings on Monday for former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is facing three counts of crimes against humanity for deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he oversaw while in office. Duterte, 80, was not in The Hague courtroom, having waived his right to appear as prosecutors began presenting evidence to support their charges of his alleged involvement in dozens of killings as part of his so-called war on drugs.

The charges date from Duterte's time as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president, and include dozens of killings as part of his so-called war on drugs. Duterte has described the charges against him an "outrageous lie". The Hague hearin...