ICC: Duterte To Stay Detained

MANILA, May 23 (Bernama-PNA) -- Former Philippine president Rodrigo R. Duterte will stay detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, the Netherlands, the Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported, citing a trial chamber rule on Friday.

The ICC Trial Chamber III issued the decision following the defence camp’s petition for Duterte’s interim release, citing his age and health condition.

The chamber argued that Duterte’s health has been examined by three ICC-appointed medical experts, whose reports “do not contain any information that warrants” the former chief’s interim release.

It also noted that Duterte’s refusal to recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction “demonstrates at its lowest that the Accused will not comply with any orders that might be made in respect of a release from custody.”

“Taken together with his access to vast resources and contacts, including his family and supporters in the Philippines who may assist him in evading justice, the Chamber finds that, notwithstanding the Defence’s submissions regarding the Accused’s health condition, there is a real and substantial risk that the Accused could nonetheless abscond or obstruct justice, either on his own or through his associates,” it said.

The trial chamber said Duterte’s physical condition and cognitive capacities “do not constitute factors which outweigh the risks outlined above.”

Duterte’s camp earlier said that the former chief executive has experienced frequent episodes of falls, occasioned by a loss of balance, and that his poor memory is no longer capable of instructing others to tamper with witnesses. 

-- BERNAMA-PNA