Ex-Philippines President Duterte’s First World Court docket Look Set For In the present day
The Hague:
Rodrigo Duterte’s first look on the Worldwide Prison Court docket has been set for Friday, the court docket stated, as the previous Philippines president faces crimes in opposition to humanity costs over his lethal struggle on medication.
“The Chamber considers it acceptable for the primary look of Mr Duterte to happen on Friday, 14 March 2025 at 14:00 hours (1300 GMT),” the court docket stated in a press release late on Thursday.
The 79-year-old will seem earlier than judges for a listening to the place he shall be knowledgeable of the crimes he’s alleged to have dedicated, in addition to his rights as a defendant.
Duterte stands accused of the crime in opposition to humanity of homicide over his years-long marketing campaign in opposition to drug customers and sellers that rights teams stated killed tens of hundreds of individuals.
As he landed in The Hague, the previous chief appeared to simply accept duty for his actions, saying in a Fb video: “I’ve been telling the police, the army, that it was my job and I’m accountable.”
Duterte’s gorgeous arrest in Manila got here amid a spectacular meltdown in relations between his household and the Marcos household, who had beforehand joined forces to run the Philippines.
Present President Ferdinand Marcos and Vice-President Sara Duterte — Rodrigo’s daughter — are at loggerheads, with the latter dealing with an impeachment trial over costs together with an alleged assassination plot in opposition to Marcos.
Sara Duterte is in The Netherlands to assist her father, after labelling his arrest “oppression and persecution”, with the Duterte household having sought an emergency injunction from the Supreme Court docket to cease his switch.
However victims of the “struggle on medication” hope that Duterte will lastly face justice for his alleged crimes.
Gilbert Andres, a lawyer representing victims of the drug struggle, advised AFP: “My purchasers are very grateful to God as a result of their prayers have been answered.”
“The arrest of Rodrigo Duterte is a good sign for worldwide prison justice. It implies that nobody is above the legislation,” Andres added.
– ‘Presumed harmless’ –
The high-profile Duterte case additionally comes at a essential second for the ICC, because it faces unprecedented strain from all sides, together with US sanctions.
Final month, US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the court docket over what he stated have been “illegitimate and baseless actions concentrating on America and our shut ally Israel.”
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged struggle crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity in the course of the Gaza struggle.
Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan hailed Duterte’s arrest as a key second for victims and worldwide justice as an entire.
“Many say that worldwide legislation shouldn’t be as sturdy as we would like, and I agree with that. However as I additionally repeatedly emphasise, worldwide legislation shouldn’t be as weak as some might imagine,” Khan stated in a press release following Duterte’s arrival in ICC custody.
“Once we come collectively… once we construct partnerships, the rule of legislation can prevail. Warrants may be executed,” he stated.
On the preliminary listening to, a suspect can request interim launch pending a trial, in line with ICC guidelines.
Following that first listening to, the following section is a session to substantiate the fees, at which level a suspect can problem the prosecutor’s proof.
Solely after that listening to will the court docket resolve whether or not to press forward with a trial, a course of that might take a number of months and even years.
“It is vital to underline, as we now begin a brand new stage of proceedings, that Mr. Duterte is presumed harmless,” stated Khan.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
