FILE PHOTO: Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is seen on a screen in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court with his lawyer Salvador Medialdea seated left, in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, March 14, 2025. - Pool via Reuters
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS: The defence lawyer for Rodrigo Duterte Thursday (Sept 11) urged the International Criminal Court to shelve its crimes against humanity case against the former Philippines president, who he said was mentally unfit for trial.
Duterte, 80, was scheduled to appear at the ICC on September 23 to hear charges over his years-long campaign against drug users and dealers that rights groups say killed thousands.
The ICC ruled earlier this week to adjourn that hearing while judges assessed Duterte's health, but lawyer Nicholas Kaufman urged the case be shelved indefinitely.
Duterte "is not fit to stand trial as a result of cognitive impairment in multiple domains," wrote Kaufman in a legal filing published Thursday on the ICC website.
"Mr Duterte's condition will not improve and, for this reason, the Pre-Trial Chamber must adjourn all legal proceedings in his case indefinitely," he added.
The former leader is suffering from "significant cognitive deficiencies" affecting his memory, his day-to-day functioning and his capacity for complex reasoning, according to Kaufman.
Duterte was arrested in Manila on March 11, flown to the Netherlands that same night and has been held at the ICC's detention unit at Scheveningen Prison since.
At his initial hearing, he followed by video link, appearing dazed and frail, barely speaking.
He is the first Asian former head of state charged by the ICC. He stands accused of 43 murders as a crime against humanity.
The ICC prosecutor's application for his arrest said Duterte's alleged crimes were "part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population" in the Philippines.
"Potentially tens of thousands of killings were perpetrated," the prosecutor alleged of the campaign that targeted mostly poor men, often without proof they were linked to drugs.
Kaufman said his client's mental faculties had declined to the point where he was unable to understand the accusations against him or defend himself in court.
A lawyer for victims of Duterte's "war on drugs" has voiced anger over the ICC's postponement of the hearing originally scheduled for September 23.
"We expected that Duterte would do this, but the fact that he was able to convince the pre-trial chamber to postpone that indefinitely is scary," Kristina Conti said. - AFP
