Prosecution cites Duterte’s own words in opposing his bid for temporary liberty
MindaNews / 25 June — The prosecution in the case against former President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court cited his hostile remarks in the past against the court in registering its opposition to his appeal for interim release.
Duterte’s lawyer Nicholas Kaufman filed the “urgent request” on June 12, citing the absence of flight risk, the lack of threats to proceedings, and humanitarian reasons.
But Assistant Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, in his response to the request, said that “Mr. Duterte’s continued detention is necessary to ensure his appearance at trial under article 58(1)(b)(i)” of the Rome Statute.
Niang said “Mr. Duterte does not accept the legitimacy of the proceedings against him” as “demonstrated by his resistance to his arrest and the claims of his counsel and family that he was kidnapped/abducted by the Court.”
Refuting the defense claim that Duterte is not a flight risk, Niang said:
“…At the time of his arrest, Mr Duterte told arresting officers that they would ‘just have to kill [him]’ in order to bring him to The Hague and before the Court. Even before his arrest, Mr Duterte reportedly made a public assertion that if the ICC were to ‘come for me, if they arrest me here, there will be a shootout, I will finish all those sons of bitches’.”
The assistant prosecutor said the former President’s proclamations “is not consistent with the behavior of an individual committed to returning for his appearance at trial and casts doubts on his recently stated commitment.”
He further said that Duterte “has maintained a network of support from powerful individuals within the Philippines” and many of his associates and family members remain in positions of power. He said these are relevant factors in determining flight risk as held by ICC Chambers in previous cases.
On page 13 of the 15-page response, a redacted copy of which was published on the ICC website on June 23, it appears that the Prosecution did not agree to the defense’s choice of custodial State in case the request for interim release was granted.
“The Prosecution’s position is that Mr Duterte’s continued detention is necessary to ensure his appearance at trial, ensure that he does not obstruct or endanger the investigation or court proceedings, and prevent him from committing crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court.
“However, the Prosecution notes that the Chamber may, pursuant to rule 119 of the Rules, consider appropriate conditions with a view to mitigating or negating the risks associated with article 58(1)(b) of the Statute. The Prosecution therefore, in the context of different state, preemptively engaged in good faith discussions with the Defence to negotiate the conditions set out in Annex A to the Defence’s Request (the “Conditions”) that may mitigate the risks identified above.
“The Prosecution’s agreement to the Conditions was based exclusively on the express understanding that Mr Duterte’s potential interim release, if granted by the Chamber, would take place in [REDACTED], not [REDACTED] as the Defence seems to suggest.
“For absolute clarity: the Prosecution has not agreed in any way to conditions for interim release to [REDACTED], or anywhere else in the world, other than [REDACTED].”
Niang said the defense’s State of choice has no extensive history of cooperation with the ICC.
Duterte is facing charges of crime against humanity of murder for deaths linked to his bloody “war on drugs” during his Presidency and time as mayor of Davao City. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno / MindaNews)
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