Duterte remains in jail, loses ICC appeal

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MANILA, Philippines – Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte will remain detained at the International Criminal Court (ICC) prison in The Hague after the appeals chamber denied his appeal for an interim release.

“The appeals chamber unanimously confirms the impugned decision,” said the appeals chamber on Friday, November 28.

A separate set of five judges denied the appeal, putting yet another roadblock to Duterte’s attempts at freedom. Dozens of drug war victims and their relatives watched the hearing at a Church center in Manila, and clapped every time they heard the judge say the word “denied” and “rejected.”

An interim release is temporary freedom given to ICC detainees if they prove that they do not possess risk factors such as evading the case, recommitting the same crimes the detainee is accused of, and jeopardizing the investigation. There are also conditions to an interim release, such as restraining from communication with the outside world in a country far from the crime scene. The pre-trial chamber denied the request early October, which Duterte elevated to the appeals chamber.

“The risks could not be mitigated by the proposed conditions,” said the appeals chamber, adding that while humanitarian grounds were considered, they “were not sufficiently set out in the case at hand.”

Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, a Peruvian jurist who heads the five-person chamber, read out the decision. Carranza had previously also ruled against Duterte in the June 2023 when the chamber allowed the continuation of the investigation.

The appeals chamber upheld entirely the pre-trial chamber, saying that Duterte’s defense team failed to point out the errors of the earlier decision.

Duterte did not appear at his hearing, waiving his right to be there. “If he can waive his right to appear, can this suffice to indicate cognitive fitness? Enough for him to understand the proceedings before the court?” said Nicolene Arcaina, executive director of the Ateneo Human Rights Center, which has been assisting victims of the war on drugs.

The appeals chamber’s decision is final since there is no higher court in the ICC after it. Duterte is facing three counts of crimes against humanity of murder, one count each per context, representing 49 incidents of killings, with 78 victims of the war on drugs and the mysterious Davao Death Squad.

Right now, Duterte is also appealing a major loss in the pre-trial chamber. In late October, the pre-trial chamber upheld the ICC’s jurisdiction over his case. Had he won it, Duterte would have been cleared of all charges of crimes against humanity due to lack of jurisdiction because the Philippines withdrew as a member of the ICC even before the prosecutor could start an investigation.

What is urgent for the victims and the prosecution, however, is for the pre-trial chamber to decide whether Duterte is fit for trial.

In a statement, International Association of Democratic Lawyers president Edre U. Olalia said, “Mr. Duterte, you are not going anywhere. You are staying where you rightfully are.”

Duterte, who turned 80 years old in the Scheveningen prison, claimed through his lawyer that he has lost critical cognitive skills, and is therefore unfit for trial. The ICC has been contracting neuropsychiatry experts to determine the veracity of his claim. With that claim still up in the air, proceedings have been halted. 

Charges have not been confirmed, because this claim scuttled what would have been the confirmation hearing late September this year. – Rappler.com