Former President Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial for alleged crimes against humanity.
Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled that former President Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial.
Based on the ruling from the judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial for alleged crimes against humanity.
In a statement issued on Monday, the ICC has rejected the defence arguments that the former president, who is now 80 years old, is in frail health and unfit to take part in the legal proceedings. To recall, Duterte is facing charges of crimes against humanity for his alleged involvement in killings as part of his “war on drugs” while in office.
He is currently detained in The Hague, and after postponing an earlier hearing over concerns about the octogenarian’s health, it was ruled that he is fit to stand trial. He was set to appear in court in September last year after a pretrial panel of judges granted a “limited postponement” to allow the court to determine whether Duterte was fit to follow and participate in the proceedings.
The Chamber said Duterte retains the mental capacity needed to meaningfully exercise his procedural and fair trial rights, including understanding the charges and evidence against him, following the proceedings, and giving instructions to his lawyers.
The hearing has now been rescheduled for February 23. Duterte will be facing a “confirmation of charges” hearing starting that date.
Duterte’s lead counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, said they will appeal the ICC’s ruling. Kaufman claimed that his client was denied due process.
“The Defence will seek leave to appeal today’s decision on the grounds that Mr Duterte was denied due process,” Kaufman said in a statement.
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