ICC mum on Duterte supporters spamming of judge’s socmed

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is not making any statements on the move taken by supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte to spam the social media pages of the judge who presided over the ex-president’s appearance before the tribunal.—PHOTOS BY MARIANNE BERMUDEZ, ICC SCREEN GRAB

MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court (ICC) is not making any statements on the move taken by supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte to spam the social media pages of the judge who presided over the ex-president’s appearance before the tribunal.

Reporters on Tuesday (Manila time) sought the comment of an ICC official regarding the incident involving the social media account of ICC Pre Trial Chamber-I presiding judge Iulia Motoc, but they said they are not commenting on such matters.

Duterte supporters spammed the LinkedIn account of Motoc as they called for the release of the former president.

READ: Duterte supporters spam ICC judge’s socmed, it may backfire- lawyer

The former president was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal 3 last March 11 when he returned from Hong Kong with family and supporters.

On March 12, Duterte was then transferred to Villamor Air Base before he was flown to The Hague, where he is now being detained. Duterte had his pretrial on March 14, while his confirmation of charges will be held on September 23, before which he could appeal for an interim release.

READ: ICC sets Duterte confirmation of charges hearing Sept. 23

ICC-accredited judge and lawyer Joel Butuyan said the actions of his supporters could affect the impending release plea of Duterte.

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

Only when there is no risk of flight, no risk of tampering with evidence, and no risk of the potential intimidation of witnesses could the ICC grant the interim release, according to Butuyan.

“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 during the online media forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines on Monday. “That’s going to be a factor of course.”