Web attacks on ICC judge bad for Duterte’s release plea – lawyer

Supporters of ex-President Rodrigo Duterte hold a rally (left photo) outside the detention facility of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the coast coastal district of Scheveningen on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. —File photo from the Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines —  The social media attacks of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s supporters on the presiding judge in his crimes against humanity case, along with recent political protests in his favor, may adversely affect his interim release plea.

Joel Butuyan, an International Criminal Court (ICC)-accredited lawyer, said this on Monday during an online media forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines

He had been asked about a similar remark by ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti, who said such moves might backfire on Duterte.

“I agree that it’s going to affect the judges, especially on the issue of interim release, because the judges will see that the force of Duterte camp is so powerful that even the ICC could be subjected to bullying, harassment, and attempts to manipulate,” Butuyan said, speaking in a mix of English and Filipino.

“That’s going to be a factor, of course. Somehow, it will affect their temperament as well,” he added.

Spamming the judge

Duterte supporters appeared to have spammed the LinkedIn posts of ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I Presiding Judge Iulia Motoc, with some of them appealing for the former president’s release.

On March 11, Duterte was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino Terminal 3 shortly after returning from a Hong Kong trip and was taken to Villamor Air Base, where he boarded a chartered plane bound for The Hague in the Netherlands.

The former president is now at the ICC Detention Center.

On March 14, he made his first appearance at his pre-trial hearing, where the court set his confirmation of charges hearing for September 23, before which he could appeal for an interim release.

Duterte’s arrest was met with protests in Manila and Davao City.

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Political unrest

Butuyan said the ICC could also note the recent political unrest, which may indicate that the basic requirements for granting an interim release could not be fulfilled.

“I think these political protests are going to work against any application for interim release that they are thinking of filing with the ICC — because one of the essential requirements of any application for interim release that would convince the judges is that the paramount consideration is there should be an extreme and urgent necessity,” Butuyan said.

“And with it, there must not be the risk of flight. There must not be the risk of tampering with evidence, and there must not be the risk of the potential intimidation of witnesses. With the ongoing political unrest, I think all these risks are present, and I’m sure the ICC judges will take note,” he continued.

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The Duterte administration’s drug war claimed at least 6,000 lives, according to official government data. But human rights watchdogs and the ICC prosecutor estimated the death toll to be between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019.

They said several of these incidents were extrajudicial killings.