International court rejects release bid from ex-Philippine president Duterte
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Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is being held at the ICC’s detention unit at Scheveningen Prison.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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THE HAGUE – Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, charged with crimes against humanity, will remain in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after judges on Oct 10 rejected a request from his defence team for release on medical grounds.
ICC judges ruled that Duterte posed a flight risk and could influence witnesses if freed, arguing that this outweighed any medical problems suffered by the 80-year-old.
“The chamber finds that Mr Duterte’s detention continues to remain necessary,” the ICC said in its ruling.
ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte
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.
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.
Duterte was arrested in Manila
He followed his initial hearing by video link, appearing dazed and frail and barely speaking.
His lawyer, Mr Nicholas Kaufman, has said Duterte is not able to stand trial “as a result of cognitive impairment in multiple domains”.
Mr Kaufman has urged the ICC to postpone proceedings against Duterte indefinitely.
Reacting to the ICC decision, Mr Kaufman told AFP: “The Defence considers that the decision to dismiss unprecedented State guarantees for a debilitated and cognitively impaired 80-year-old, kept from the public eye for more than six months, to be erroneous.”
‘Flight risk’
When considering the request for interim release, judges looked at whether he is a flight risk, whether he can hinder the case if freed, and his medical condition.
The ICC found he “continues to pose a flight risk, and detention is necessary to ensure his presence during the pretrial proceedings and possible trial”.
The judges pointed to Duterte’s “necessary political contacts” and “a network of support within that country”, including his daughter, Sara, currently the Philippine vice-president.
This network “may help him abscond”, they said.
The ICC also found there is a risk that Duterte and his network “would pose a threat to (potential) witnesses, either directly or indirectly through his supporters”.
This also argued for his continued detention, the court ruled.
Finally, the judges said medical reports provided by the defence to show that Duterte is suffering from cognitive decline are insufficient to allow release.
“The chamber considers that the documents do not indicate how Mr Duterte’s alleged physical condition or cognitive impairment negate the risks identified above,” the ICC said.
However, the judges stressed that this assessment related only to the issue of interim release, not to the determination of whether he was fit to stand trial.
The ruling “is without prejudice to any further determination and decision on the separate matter of Mr Duterte’s fitness to participate in the present proceedings and the confirmation of charges hearing”, they said.
The “confirmation of charges” hearing is the next step in the case, where lawyers will argue whether there are sufficient grounds for an actual trial.
This has been postponed indefinitely while judges decide whether Duterte’s alleged health problems have rendered him unfit to take the dock.
Mr Paolo Duterte, his son, described the decision as “a gross and disgraceful miscarriage of justice”.
“It is not law, it is a political theatre,” said the younger Duterte, a member of the Philippine House of Representatives. AFP
