The Hague:
Rodrigo Duterte’s first look on the Worldwide Felony Court has been set for Friday, the courtroom mentioned, as the previous Philippines president faces crimes towards humanity prices over his lethal conflict on medicine.
“The Chamber considers it acceptable for the primary look of Mr Duterte to happen on Friday, 14 March 2025 at 14:00 hours (1300 GMT),” the courtroom mentioned in a press release late on Thursday.
The 79-year-old will seem earlier than judges for a listening to the place he will likely be knowledgeable of the crimes he’s alleged to have dedicated, in addition to his rights as a defendant.
Duterte stands accused of the crime towards humanity of homicide over his years-long marketing campaign towards drug customers and sellers that rights teams mentioned killed tens of hundreds of individuals.
As he landed in The Hague, the previous chief appeared to simply accept duty for his actions, saying in a Fb video: “I’ve been telling the police, the army, that it was my job and I’m accountable.”
Duterte’s beautiful arrest in Manila got here amid a spectacular meltdown in relations between his household and the Marcos household, who had beforehand joined forces to run the Philippines.
Present President Ferdinand Marcos and Vice-President Sara Duterte — Rodrigo’s daughter — are at loggerheads, with the latter dealing with an impeachment trial over prices together with an alleged assassination plot towards Marcos.
Sara Duterte is in The Netherlands to help her father, after labelling his arrest “oppression and persecution”, with the Duterte household having sought an emergency injunction from the Supreme Court to cease his switch.
However victims of the “conflict on medicine” hope that Duterte will lastly face justice for his alleged crimes.
Gilbert Andres, a lawyer representing victims of the drug conflict, advised AFP: “My shoppers are very grateful to God as a result of their prayers have been answered.”
“The arrest of Rodrigo Duterte is a good sign for worldwide legal justice. It signifies that nobody is above the regulation,” Andres added.
– ‘Presumed harmless’ –
The high-profile Duterte case additionally comes at a essential second for the ICC, because it faces unprecedented stress from all sides, together with US sanctions.
Final month, US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the courtroom over what he mentioned had been “illegitimate and baseless actions focusing on America and our shut ally Israel.”
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged conflict crimes and crimes towards humanity through the Gaza conflict.
Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan hailed Duterte’s arrest as a key second for victims and worldwide justice as an entire.
“Many say that worldwide regulation is just not as robust as we would like, and I agree with that. However as I additionally repeatedly emphasise, worldwide regulation is just not as weak as some might imagine,” Khan mentioned in a press release following Duterte’s arrival in ICC custody.
“Once we come collectively… once we construct partnerships, the rule of regulation can prevail. Warrants might be executed,” he mentioned.
On the preliminary listening to, a suspect can request interim launch pending a trial, in accordance with ICC guidelines.
Following that first listening to, the subsequent section is a session to substantiate the costs, at which level a suspect can problem the prosecutor’s proof.
Solely after that listening to will the courtroom resolve whether or not to press forward with a trial, a course of that would take a number of months and even years.
“It is vital to underline, as we now begin a brand new stage of proceedings, that Mr. Duterte is presumed harmless,” mentioned Khan.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
Source link
#ExPhilippines #President #Dutertes #World #Court #Appearance #Set #Today
