Amid the Frustration of Many Supporters, Duterte Family Accepts ICC Ruling on Interim Release “with Peaceful Hearts”
The Duterte family may not be allowed to visit former President Rodrigo Duterte on Christmas Day based on the statement of his lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is detained under the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for nearly 9 months now. He is detained at the Scheveningen Prison, the detention center of the ICC.
The former President has applied for his interim release but the ICC junked it citing him as a flight risk. His camp filed an appeal over the said ruling of the foreign court and a hearing was recently held over the appeal.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte skipped the ICC hearing on his interim release plea set last November 28. He signed a waiver and he was represented by his lawyer, British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, at the hearing.
Contrary to what countless Duterte supporters as well as the Duterte family have hoped for, the ICC rejected the interim release appeal of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. The ruling once again came with a unanimous decision from the judges.
The ICC cited Duterte as a high risk individual. The foreign court junked all three (3) grounds raised by the Defense Team which are the following:
- The Pre-Trial Chamber erroneously found that Duterte poses a risk under Article 58(1)(b) of the Rome Statute
- The Pre-Trial Chamber erred in its rejection of the guarantees proposed by the State willing to receive him
- The Pre-Trial Chamber erred in law by failing to take into account humanitarian considerations in assessing the right to interim release.
After the ruling of the court was reported, the Duterte family immediately issued a statement expressed their acceptance of the ICC ruling that rejected the interim release bid of the former President. Vice Pres. Sara Duterte is now back in The Hague and has visited her father.
Recently, lawyer Nicholas Kaufman spoke on former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. Based on a report on GMA News, the British-Israeli lead counsel of the former President claimed that the former President wishes to spend time with his family on Christmas.
However, according to Kaufman, the ICC detention center usually observes court holidays on December 25 and 26. Thus, regular visits may not be allowed.
“He wishes to spend Christmas with his family, as anyone would want to spend Christmas. He knows that he has a huge base of supporters outside who respect the International Criminal Court and wouldn’t dream of interfering with the proceedings that are going on, quite contrary to submissions which are made by the Office of the Prosecutor,” Duterte’s lawyer said.
Meanwhile, based on the report, Nicholas Kaufman assured that they will try their best so former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte could be with his family on Christmas day. However, he admitted that he cannot be too optimistic about it and the decision lies on the foreign court.
“We are going to try and change that because we believe that the former president should be with his family on Christmas, and we will fight for that,” Kaufman said.
Recently, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte spoke about her recent visit to former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte after the ICC junked his interim release appeal.