Lawyer of Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte Moves for Adjournment of All Legal ICC Proceedings
RODRIGO DUTERTE – The lawyer of the former Philippine President claimed that his client is unable to remember, places, events, and even close family members.
Former Pres. Duterte is faced with an accusation of crimes against humanity over the war on drugs of his administration. Supposedly, the confirmation of charges of the former President is set on September 23 but the International Criminal Court confirmed that it will be postponed.
The ruling of the ICC came after Duterte’s lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, claimed that his client is not fit to stand trial. The lawyer of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte also expressed his hope that the Marcos Jr. administration will allow his client’s return to the Philippines for interim release until all legal proceedings are done.
In a recent filing made just three (3) days after the International Criminal Court announced that the confirmation of charges of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte will be postponed, Duterte’s lawyer asked the ICC to adjourn all legal proceedings indefinitely. He claimed that his client allegedly suffers from ‘cognitive impairment’.
Based on a report on GMA News, the lawyer of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte claimed that the 80-year-old former Chief Executive allegedly lacks the capacity to implement the cognitive skills that are necessary for the proper conduct of his defense. According to Kaufman, the former President is allegedly not even able to process the reasons why he is detained under the ICC custody.
“With his impaired memory and concomitant inability to retain new information or to recall events, places, timing or even members of his close family and defense team, Mr Duterte is unable to fully understand the nature and implications of the proceedings conducted against him,” Kaufman stated in his filing.
Based on the report, former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s alleged deficient memory also supposedly leaves him unable to follow the litigation and make informed judgments. According to Kaufman, his client is unable to contribute to his own defense which will allegedly leave the legal proceedings “totally ineffective”.
The British-Israeli lawyer claimed that former Pres. Duterte’s condition is expected to stay as “static” or to “deteriorate even further” even with a medical intervention. The family of the former President has yet to speak on the matter.
Previously, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that the ICC allegedly barred them from disclosing information about their visits to the former President inside the detention center. Her statement came shortly after the Duterte family seemingly had a reunion inside the ICC detention facility in The Hague as all four (4) children of the former President visited him altogether.