The International Criminal Court ruled Friday that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will remain in custody, after appeals judges rejected a request for his provisional release.
The International Criminal Court revealed in September that Duterte faces charges of crimes against humanity stemming from his alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings during his brutal campaign against drugs when he was president and mayor of the southern city of Davao.
Duterte has denied authorizing extrajudicial killings during his tenure as president between 2016 and 2022, although he openly threatened drug suspects with death and encouraged police to open fire if suspects violently resist arrest.
Those instructions led to thousands of extrajudicial killings by police Mostly poor drug suspects, According to Amnesty International.
The charges against Duterte date from November 1, 2011, when he was still mayor of Davao, and March 16, 2019, when the country withdrew from the court.
Duarte was arrested this March and taken to the Netherlands. He is currently being held at the ICC facility in the Netherlands.
ICC rejects Duterte’s request for interim release on health grounds
Presiding Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez said “the Appeals Chamber found that the defense failed to identify errors” in the October lower court ruling that kept the former leader in custody.
Duarte’s lawyers say his health is deteriorating in the facility, and in September, the court postponed pre-trial hearings until a full medical evaluation can be conducted.
The defense said it plans to “resubmit their request to release” Duterte following drug test results expected next month, attorney Nick Kauffman said in a statement.
Duterte was not in court to hear the verdict.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko