Jailed Estrada defiant

Police pushed through Mr Estrada's supporters to get to him

Former Philippines President Joseph Estrada has spoken defiantly from his prison cell, dismissing the charges against him as politically motivated.

Police arrested Mr Estrada in a suburb of the capital, Manila, on Wednesday. He is now awaiting trial for economic plunder, a crime punishable by death.

In an interview with the BBC from prison, Mr Estrada insisted he was innocent, saying he was facing trumped-up charges by a "mob-rule government".

The government says he illegally amassed more than $80m during his two-and-a-half years in office.

'Intimidation'

Mr Estrada said the former aides who had turned against him had been "intimidated, harassed and threatened" with charges of economic plunder and the death penalty it can carry.

Joseph Estrada: No complaints about treatment

Earlier a convoy of police vehicles drove Mr Estrada away from his Manila home after a tense standoff with thousands of his supporters who had gathered there.

He was forced from power in January after the army backed mass street protests sparked by the collapse of a spectacular six-week impeachment trial.

I will face all these charges... I know that truth will triumph in the end

Joseph Estrada

Hundreds of riot police surrounded the former film star's house on Wednesday, but for some hours his supporters prevented them from arresting him.

There were scuffles between the two sides but eventually Mr Estrada was seen being driven out of his residence.

He said he did not believe the case against him would lead to a death sentence.

Good conditions

The plunder charge is the most serious of a number filed against Mr Estrada, and does not allow bail.

Analysts say it is unlikely that the death sentence will be imposed in this case.

Steps to jail

17 Jan: Impeachment trial collapses

20 Jan: Estrada toppled following mass protests

2 March: Supreme Court rules against Estrada

19 March: Estrada appeals

3 April: Supreme Court strips him of immunity

4 April: Charges formally lodged

10 April: Second bid to overturn Supreme Court ruling fails

16 April: Arrested on lesser charges and bailed

25 April: Arrested on non-bailable plunder charge

Mr Estrada is being held in the police training headquarters 15km (nine miles) outside Manila.

Describing his cell as small, he told the BBC, via telephone that it was "just an ordinary room with a bed."

"It is air-conditioned though. So it is good enough. I can bear with it," he said.

The court also ordered the arrest of eight other defendants, including Mr Estrada's son Jose Ejercito, lawyer Edward Serapio, friend Charlie Ang, and five others.

Anti-Estrada protesters say his arrest is long overdue

The indictment came after the Supreme Court unanimously rejected his appeals of a ruling that stripped away his presidential immunity.

Last week, the former president surrendered and was given bail after the court issued an arrest warrant on some of the lesser charges.

The BBC's Simon Ingram in Manila says that for the tens of thousands of Filipinos whose mass protests drove the former president from power in January, his arrest could not have come soon enough.