Prosecutor of ICC Makes Filing over Duterte Camp’s Interim Release Bid Plea
ICC – The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court asked it to junk the appeal of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s camp to delay the ruling for his interim release bid.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is detained under the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands since March. He is facing an accusation of crimes against humanity over the war on drugs of his administration.
Amid the detention of the 80-year-old former Chief Executive of the Philippines, the camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte has sought for his ICC interim release to an undisclosed country. Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that not all the needs of her father can be provided inside the detention facility in The Hague considering his age.
The Vice President further stressed that her father can be called “super senior” citizen and may be better taken cared of in a place where they can hire a nurse or a caregiver to attend to his needs. She previously confirmed that Australia can be the country where her father can stay during his interim release but clarified that her most recent visit to the country was not about it.
Recently, amid the request to the International Criminal Court, the lawyers of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte asked the ICC to pause in making a decision over the interim release plea of their clients. According to his legal team, they still await some documents and information that can support their bid.
Following the request of Duterte’s camp, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang requested the the court to junk the plea of the camp of the former President to delay the ruling. Based on a report on Inquirer, he made a filing dated July 18 wherein he stressed that the move of the defense to prematurely file their urgent application for Duterte’s interim release rested on their choice.
“The Defence chose when to file its urgent application for interim release knowing that the submitted [REDACTED] was incomplete. The Defense should not be permitted to suspend issuance of the decision on the basis that it may, at some unknown point in the future, attempt to supplement its submission,” the ICC prosecutor stated in his filing.
Previously, following the reports about the plea of the former President’s camp for his temporary release as he awaits the confirmation of charges on September 23, a group urged the House of Representatives to oppose the interim release bid of the former President.
Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Boying Remulla also opposed the interim release bid of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. He stressed that the Netherlands already provide the best medical care.