Following Postponement of Confirmation of Charges Hearing, ICC Prosecution Makes Filing over Duterte’s Fitness
The ICC prosecution team has recommended three (3) medical experts to check on the fitness of former President Rodrigo Duterte for trial.
Duterte remains under the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands since March. The former President is accused of three (3) counts of murder as alleged “crimes against humanity” before the international court.
However, the ICC decided to postpone the confirmation of charges hearing of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte after his lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, claimed that he is allegedly unfit to stand trial. The British-Israeli Lawyer claimed that his client is allegedly suffering from ‘cognitive impairment’.
Kaufman also claimed that the former President is allegedly unable to remember places, events, and even members of his family. He called for the indefinite adjournment of all legal proceedings over the charges against his client.
The camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte has also renewed his application for an interim release from the ICC detention facility in August. According to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, a “third country” has allegedly committed to host the interim release of the former President.
Vice Pres. Duterte previously claimed that her father needs a 24/7 caregiver. According to her, not all of the needs of the 80-year-old former President may be provided inside the ICC detention facility.
However, the ICC prosecution team believes that the continued detention of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is necessary. Recently, the prosecutors also made a filing recommending medical tests on the former President to assess his fitness to stand trial.
Based on a report on GMA News, a nine-page document was filed by the ICC prosecution team suggesting three (3) experts to assess the fitness of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte to stand trial. They are the following:
- forensic psychiatry
- neuropsychology
- behavioral neurology
“The Prosecution supports the appointment of a multidisciplinary panel of experts for the assessment of Mr Duterte’s fitness to stand trial and suggests that it should consist of at least three experts in the fields of forensic psychiatry, neuropsychology, and behavioural neurology,” the document signed by Mame Mandiaye Niang read.
The ICC prosecution team also said that the three (3) experts have expressed their availability to extend their services for September and October. Based on the report, the prosecutors opposed the expert presented by the Defense citing possibility of issues like “potential bias”.
Previously, former presidential spokesman Harry Roque claimed that former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte has allegedly expressed his final wish before his death amid his ICC detention.