Duterte’s lawyers seek delay in ICC ruling on interim release request
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is seen on a screen in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool)
MANILA, Philippines — Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s defense lawyers have asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber I to hold off on ruling on their request for his interim release.
Dated July 18, the new request seeks to suspend adjudication of the release petition “until such time as the Defense has assembled all information necessary.”
The former president is accused of crimes against humanity in connection with his administration’s war on drugs, which is alleged to have claimed between 12,000 and 30,000 Filipino lives.
On June 12, Duterte’s counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, appealed for the former president’s interim release, saying an undisclosed government had expressed “advance and principled agreement” to receive him.
However, in the July 18 request, which was redacted, Kaufman claimed the defense team had been “slow-walked and stymied” since May, and that some “results” had only been provided to them “a few days ago.”
He maintained that the prosecution team “mischaracterized” an undisclosed material as “incomplete and should not consequently be relied upon.”
“A highly prejudicial situation has thus been created, by which Mr. Duterte is unable to challenge a Prosecution assertion,” Kaufman argued.
“As a matter of fairness, therefore, the Pre-Trial Chamber must receive all pertinent information on [redacted] before rendering its decision, especially since [redacted] can be of relevance to interim release,” he added.
Duterte’s defense team underscored the urgency of the new request, noting that applications for interim release are “typically encouraged” to be decided within 30 days.
READ: Points of contention: Int’l law experts’ views on Duterte ICC case
Duterte was turned over by the Philippine government to the tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, last March.
The hearing for the confirmation of charges against him is set for September 23. /jpv
