MANILA, Philippines — Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s defense team again asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) Pre-Trial Chamber to grant him interim release, this time citing prolonged delays in proceedings linked to questions over his fitness to stand trial.
In a public redacted notification filed on September 16, Duterte’s lawyers, led by Nicholas Kaufman, argued that the confirmation of charges hearing had been indefinitely postponed, making continued detention unreasonable. They pointed out that administrative and logistical hurdles raised by the ICC Registry were likely to further prolong proceedings, strengthening the case for provisional release.
“The hearing on the confirmation of charges has effectively been postponed sine diem. Mr. Duterte should not remain in detention while proceedings on fitness — now expected to take no less than [redacted] — are underway,” the lawyers said.
The defense said it twice requested status conferences earlier this year to regulate litigation on Duterte’s fitness, but these were opposed by prosecutors who sought his continued detention. The lawyers argued that administrative delay “cannot justify the abrogation of liberty” and that release should be ordered once detention “ceases to be reasonable.”
As part of the proposed conditions, Duterte’s team said he could be hosted by a state willing to cooperate with the Court, under arrangements that would allow ICC supervision. They stressed that interim release would not hinder assessments of his fitness or the broader proceedings.
Duterte has been detained in The Hague since March on charges of crimes against humanity over thousands of killings in his administration’s war on drugs.
