Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been linked to the ICC in the Netherlands via video links, where he faces murder charges related to the “war on drugs.”
Duterte appeared around 2:30 p.m. local time and was informed of the allegations against him and his rights.
The 79-year-old former authoritarian leader arrived in The Hague after being arrested earlier this week in Manila, where he was charged with “the crime of murder is accusation of crime against humanity”, with thousands killed during his brutal years-long campaign.
The International Criminal Court said the judge authorized Duterte to appear in court via video conference, noting that he had been on a long journey.
Chairman Iulia Antoanella Motoc said: “Because Mr. Duterte’s long journey involved a considerable time difference, the Chamber of Commerce authorized Mr. Duterte to follow the hearing from a distance.”
The Philippine government said Duterte took a flight from Manila later on Tuesday. He arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday after a long stop in Dubai, where he received medical assistance during his stopover.
Duterte’s lawyer, Salvador Medialdea, attended the court Thursday, saying Duterte landed in The Hague after receiving an “outlaw speech” and he called him “pure and simple kidnapping.”
MediaLdea added that Duterte’s medical problems felt debilitating, including hard hearing and poor vision, forbid him from contributing to the hearing. Judge Motoc rejected the suggestion, saying the court doctors found Duterte “totally conscious and appropriate.”
“Duterte allegedly suspected of murder, allegedly a crime against humanity, was allegedly committed in the Philippines between 1 November 2011 and 16 March 2019,” the International Criminal Court said.
“During this time, Mr. Duterte’s president in the Philippines, Mayor of Davao City, was allegedly the head of the Davao Death Squad,” it said.
The court said there were “reasonable reasons” to believe Duterte was the murder of “at least 19 people between 2011 and 2016, allegedly a drug promoter or a thief killed by members of the Davao Death Squad, and “at least 24 people murdered at least 24 people … under the supervision of Philippine law enforcement, sometimes under the supervision of Philippine law enforcement, sometimes in the 2016 police.
Duterte ruled the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.
Police data said 6,000 people were killed. Some rights groups say the death toll could be as high as 30,000, with innocents and bystanders often caught in the firefight of what Duterte called the “death squad.”
