Filing of ICC Prosecutors Extends Suggestion To Check Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte
The ICC prosecutors recommended three (3) medical experts to check on the fitness of former President Rodrigo Duterte to stand trial.
For nearly 7 months now, former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte remains under the detention of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. It was last March 11 when the Philippine authorities assisted the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) for the arrest of former President. On the same day of his arrest, he was flown to Dubai en route for The Hague.
Previously, the ICC revealed that former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte is faced with three (3) counts of murder filed against him by the ICC prosecutors as alleged “crimes against humanity”. It came after the foreign court postponed the confirmation of charges hearing.
The ICC decided to postpone the confirmation of charges hearing set last September 23 after Nicholas Kaufman, the lead counsel of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, claimed that his client is allegedly “not fit to stand trial”. The British-Israeli Lawyer claimed that the 80-year-old former President is supposedly suffering from a ‘cognitive impairment’.
Kaufman claimed that Duterte is allegedly unable to recall places, events, and even members of his family. He called on the ICC to adjourn all legal proceedings indefinitely. He also expressed his hope that the Marcos Jr. administration will allow the return of the former President to the Philippines.
The camp of Duterte has filed an application for his interim release. However, the ICC prosecutors previously opposed it saying that the continued detention of the former President is necessary. Recently, the prosecution team also made a filing over the issue about Duterte’s fitness to stand trial.
The ICC prosecutors suggested three (3) experts to check on the fitness of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte to stand trial. Based on a report on GMA News, the prosecution team recommended experts specializing in behavioral neurology, forensic psychiatry, and neuropsychology to assess the former President.
“The Prosecution supports the appointment of a multidisciplinary panel of experts for the assessment of Mr Duterte’s fitness to stand trial and suggests that it should consist of at least three experts in the fields of forensic psychiatry, neuropsychology, and behavioural neurology,” the ICC prosecutors stated in the filing.
Based on the report, the filing was signed by ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang. It is also stated in the 9-page document that the ICC prosecutors opposed a potential expert presented by the camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte. According to the prosecution team, the three experts are available to provide their services for September and October.
The camp of Duterte has yet to speak on the filing of the ICC prosecutors. Previously, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that the former President was allegedly found unconscious in the floor of his ICC room.