ICC rejects release for Philippines ex-president Duterte
The ICC has rejected a request to release former Philippines president Duterte from prison in The Hague where he is awaiting trial for crimes against humanity. Duterte's lawyers have cited his frail health. In the Philippines, rights activists welcomed the ICC ruling.
The Hague (AFP/AP) - The International Criminal Court on Friday rejected a request by former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte to be released from detention ahead of his trial on crimes against humanity during his war on drugs.
Presiding judge Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza told a hearing that lawyers for the 80-year-old had not laid out strong enough precautions to warrant a temporary release from custody in The Hague, where the court is based.
Duterte's lawyers, appealing against an earlier refusal, had called for a "humanitarian" parole because of the state of his health.
The judge said "the conditions for release proposed were not sufficient to mitigate the risks it found in relation to Mr Duterte's interim release".
Humanitarian release rejected
The court also "rejected the defence's argument that Mr Duterte should be released for humanitarian reasons".
The former president was not in court on Friday.
Duterte, who was president from 2016 to 2022, was detained in Manila on March 11 and taken to the ICC prison at Scheveningen, near The Hague. He appeared very weak, barely speaking, when he made his first court appearance by video.
The charges against Duterte have been made over the campaign against drug traffickers and consumers during his presidency that rights groups say left thousands dead.
The court is still to give a ruling on whether Duterte is fit to stand trial. A ruling in October rejected claims by his defence that the ICC was not competent to judge Duterte on three charges of crimes against humanity.
One charge concerns 19 murders committed between 2013 and 2016, when Duterte was mayor of Davao City. A second relates to 14 killings of alleged drug bosses in 2016 and 2017, when he was president. The third covers 43 killings of suspected low-level drug users or dealers.
The Philippines government "respects" the court ruling, a spokeswoman for President Ferdinand Marcos told reporters in Manila. Duterte's daughter Sara Duterte is a vice president.
Rights activists welcome the latest legal blow to Duterte
The families of some of those who died in Duterte's campaign watched the hearing by video at a Manila university campus. They erupted in cheers and applause when the decision was announced.
"We really prayed for (Duterte) not to be granted an interim release," Dahlia Cuartero, whose late son Jesus would have turned 33 on Saturday, told AFP. "This is the best birthday gift for him," she said.
Philippines withdrdrew from ICC
According to court filings, Duterte instructed and authorized "violent acts including murder to be committed against alleged criminals, including alleged drug dealers and users." The charges against him date from Nov. 1, 2011, when he was still mayor of the southern city of Davao, to March 16, 2019, when the country withdrew from the court.
Estimates of the death toll during Duterte's presidential term vary. National police put the figure at more than 6,000, while human rights groups claim up to 30,000. Families of victims hailed Duterte's arrest in March.
The legal team requested that he be transferred to the custody of another member state while proceedings continue. However the appeals judges agreed with the lower chamber that the risk posed by his released "could not be mitigated" by the undisclosed country, Judge Ibáñez said.
ICC prosecutors announced in February 2018 that they would open a preliminary investigation into the violence that took place during Duterte's time in power. In a move that human rights activists say was aimed at escaping accountability, Duterte, who was still president, announced a month later that the Philippines would leave the court.
Countries can't abuse their right to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the court's founding document, "by shielding persons from justice in relation to alleged crimes that are already under consideration," judges wrote in the ruling in October. Duterte's legal team has appealed this decision as well.
Philippines government respects court ruling
In a statement, the current government of the Philippines acknowledged Friday's decision. "The International Criminal Court has already made its decision and the Palace respects it," presidential Communications Secretary Claire Castro said in a statement.
Duterte's family and allies have blamed current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for what they claim was the ex-president's illegal arrest and detention by the global court.
The Duterte family said it accepted the decision "with peaceful hearts."
"We will continue to work with the defence team on the case and will keep supporting former President Rodrigo Duterte with our daily conversations. We thank everyone who prayed with us today," they said in a statement.