ICC judges decline to release former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, citing flight risk

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Judges at the International Criminal Court on Friday rejected a request from former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to be launched from detention, discovering he was seemingly to refuse to return for trial and might use his freedom to intimidate witnesses.

Prosecutors at the ICC accuse Duterte of crimes against humanity for the lethal anti-drugs crackdowns he oversaw while in workplace, first as the mayor of a southern metropolis and later as president.

Duterte’s legal group requested a pre-trial panel of judges to release the octogenarian, arguing he was in frail health and his condition was deteriorating in the court’s detention unit.

A panel of pretrial judges rejected the request, writing in a 23-page resolution that, as a former president, Duterte “appears to have the necessary political contacts” to “help him abscond.”

The resolution also factors to the chance that Duterte may use his freedom to intervene with the legal course of. If he’s launched, judges wrote, there may be a probability he would “pose a threat to (potential) witnesses, either directly or indirectly through his supporters.”

Duterte’s lawyer, Nick Kaufman, told The Associated Press the choice was “erroneous” and criticized holding “a debilitated and cognitively impaired 80-year-old” in detention.

Last month, judges postponed a listening to until a full medical evaluation might be made. According to protection filings, Duterte’s “cognitive faculties” have declined to a degree that he can’t help his legal professionals.

Rights teams and households of victims hailed Duterte’s arrest in March, and the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, called it “a crucial step in our continuous work to ensure accountability for the victims of the most serious crimes under ICC jurisdiction.”

Two organizations supporting the households of suspects killed in Duterte’s crackdown hailed the court’s resolution as “a resounding victory for justice and accountability.”

In a joint statement, SENTRO and the CATW-AP said, “The ICC’s ruling reaffirms a simple but powerful truth: no one, not even a former head of state, is above the law.”

According to a submitting last month, ICC prosecutors declare Duterte instructed and approved “violent acts including murder to be committed against alleged criminals, including alleged drug dealers and users.”

The ICC opened an inquiry in 2021 into mass killings linked to the so-called battle on medication overseen by Duterte when he served as mayor of the southern Philippine metropolis of Davao and later as president.

Estimates of the death toll during Duterte’s presidential time period fluctuate, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported and up to 30,000 claimed by human rights teams.