THE HAGUE: Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte will face trial at the International Criminal Court after judges on Thursday (Apr 23) confirmed charges of crimes against humanity over his so-called “war on drugs”.
Pre-trial judges “unanimously confirmed all the charges … against Rodrigo Roa Duterte and committed him to trial,” the ICC said in a statement.
Duterte will be the first Asian former head of state to face trial at the ICC, which prosecutes individuals for the world’s worst crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The court faces the most difficult time in its 24-year history, with the United States sanctioning key judges and officials after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israel’s leader over the Gaza war.
It is unclear whether the 81-year-old Duterte will attend his trial.
His defence team says he is too weak mentally to follow proceedings and he did not appear at a week of hearings to assess the validity of the charges.
The only time he has been seen since his arrest was an initial appearance via video, where he seemed confused and tired, his speech barely audible.
The pre-trial judges concluded there were “substantial grounds to believe that Duterte is responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder”, the ICC statement said.
During so-called “confirmation of charges” hearings in February, the prosecution alleged Duterte killed thousands of suspected drug pushers and users, first as mayor of Davao City, then as president.
“Decades of murdering his own people, murdering the children of the Philippines, and he claims that he did it all for his country. He doesn’t deny it,” said Julian Nicholls, summing up for the prosecution after the hearings.
“He ran a death squad in Davao (city) that he created. He ran it for over 20 years before he became president. His promise was to kill thousands and he did.”
Judges heard dozens of Duterte speeches from the time, in which he vowed to kill drug dealers, as part of a drive to lower crime rates.
“SMOKING GUN”
He faces three counts of crimes against humanity, with prosecutors alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018.
The prosecution has selected these alleged murders as “emblematic”, with rights groups and ICC prosecutors putting the total number of dead in the thousands.
The first count against him concerns his alleged involvement as a co-perpetrator in 19 murders between 2013 and 2016 when he was Davao mayor.
The second relates to 14 murders of so-called “High Value Targets” in 2016 and 2017 when he was president.
The third charge covers 43 murders committed during “clearance” operations of lower-level alleged drug users or pushers across the Philippines between 2016 and 2018.
During the confirmation of charges hearing, his defence lawyer Nicholas Kaufman said his client “maintains his innocence absolutely”.
Kaufman acknowledged that Duterte’s speeches were peppered with threats but told judges there was no proven link between his client’s rhetoric and the alleged crimes.
“There is no smoking gun in this case,” Kaufman told the three-judge panel at the ICC.
“Not one witness relevant to any of the 49 incidents with which Mr Rodrigo Duterte is charged will testify that he received a direct order from the former president to go out and kill someone.”
Kaufman also accused prosecutors of “cherry-picking” the speeches, noting there were several examples of Duterte telling authorities to only act within the law.
A lawyer for the victims, Paolina Massidda, said the loved ones of those killed “have waited years for this moment”.
Addressing the judges directly, Massidda said: “Today, the victims stand before you with the hope that justice long denied may finally be within reach. This court is their last refuge.”
In a separate procedure, the ICC Appeals Court on Wednesday confirmed the court had jurisdiction on the case, quashing a challenge from the defence.