Statement of ICC Prosecutor on Interim Release Application for Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte
ICC PROSECUTOR – The International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor opposed the interim release plea of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
It was in June of this year when the camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte filed an application for his interim release to an undisclosed country. According to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, her father can be considered a “super senior” citizen.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte also said that not all the needs of former Pres. Duterte can be provided inside the ICC detention facility, thus, his camp applied for his interim release. The former President is detained inside the ICC detention center in The Hague, Netherlands since March.
The elder Duterte is faced with an accusation of crimes against humanity over the drug war of his administration. Despite his arrest and the transfer of his custody to the ICC, the former President maintained that everything that he did during his term was allegedly for the country and the Filipino people.
A few weeks since his camp filed his interim release plea, Duterte’s lawyers asked the ICC to withhold from deciding on the appeal as they await some documents and information that will support their request. Recently, a few weeks ahead of the confirmation of charges set on September 23, the former President’s renewed his interim release bid.
Recently, the ICC prosecutor spoke anew on the interim release plea of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the prosecution panel led by Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang submitted a filing dated August 28 and published on September 12.
According to the lead of the ICC prosecutor team, the continued detention of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is needed “to ensure his appearance at trial, to ensure that he does not obstruct or endanger the investigation or court proceedings, and to prevent him from continuing with the commission of crimes or related crimes which are within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (the “Court” or “ICC”) and which arise out of the same circumstances”.
Furthermore, based on the report, the ICC prosecutor also stated in its filing that the recent events including the continued claim of the Duterte family that their patriarch was allegedly “forcibly taken” shows the need for detention to ensure the former President appearance at the trial.
However, the confirmation of charges hearing was postponed by the ICC because former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is “not fit to stand trial”.