ICC pre-trial judges confirm charges vs Duterte
MindaNews / 24 April – Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will face trial for crimes against humanity after the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I Presiding Judge Iulia Antonella Motoc and Judges Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou and María del Socorro Flores Liera unanimously confirmed the charges against him.
“The Chamber finds that there are substantial grounds to believe that Mr. Duterte is criminally responsible for the crimes charged in Counts 1-3 as an indirect co-perpetrator, and/or for ordering and/or inducing and/or for aiding and abetting the commission of the crimes,” the judges said in the redacted 50-page decision.
The decision came a day after the ICC Appeals Chamber affirmed the tribunal’s jurisdiction over the case.
Duterte, who is charged as an indirect co-perpetrator in killings linked to his bloody “war on drugs” and those perpetrated by the “Davao Death Squad (DDS),” is facing three counts of crimes against humanity for 49 incidents involving 76 killings and two attempted murders.
The killings mentioned in the charges covered the period from Nov. 1, 2011 to March 16, 2019, when the Philippines was a party to the Rome Statute, the ICC’S founding treaty.
The pre-trial judges said the evidence shows Duterte’s hand in the creation of the DDS in the late 1980s until the end of June 2016 “with the aim of killing criminals.”
They said there was a “common plan” to “kill alleged criminals in the Philippines, including those perceived or alleged to be associated with drug use, sale or production.”
“Mr. Duterte ordered the creation of lists of individuals allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade or other forms of criminality and publicly named certain individuals, proffering death threats against them; some of these individuals were subsequently killed,” the ruling said.
Duterte and his co-perpetrators implemented the common plan nationwide upon assuming the presidency, with the then-President providing personnel and logistical resources “to further the commission of the crimes,” the ruling, citing evidence presented by the prosecution during the confirmation of charges hearing in February, added.
The Trial Chamber that will try Duterte will comprise new judges to be named by the ICC presidency.
“Trials at the ICC are fair and impartial, and the Defense will have sufficient time to prepare its case, while respecting the rights of victims,” the ICC said in a statement.
Not surprised
“The Pre-Trial Chamber found that the crucial word ‘neutralize’, used to define a so-called State or organizational policy, was understood by those involved in the operations to mean to ‘kill’,” Duterte’s lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, told reporters in The Hague after the pre-trial chamber released its decision confirming the charges against his client.
“This is hardly surprising when the whole of the Prosecution’s case, as pasted into the concluding paragraphs of the Pre-Trial Chamber’s decision, is based on the uncorroborated statements of vicious self-confessed murderers acting as cooperating witnesses,” he added.
‘Immense joy’
In a Facebook post, lawyer Kristina Conti, who represents some of the victims, said they are filled with immense joy and gratitude to the ICC for the quick and solid decisions, referring to the court’s rulings on jurisdiction and confirmation of charges.
She said the successive rulings will pave the way for the trial of Duterte for crimes against humanity.
“We were right in our decision to seek recourse and file a complaint at the ICC,” the post written in Filipino said. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaNews)
No comments:
Post a Comment