Prosecution disputes 2 Duterte pleas
The prosecution of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has opposed two appeals by the camp of former President Rodrigo Duterte seeking the reversal of the ruling that kept him in detention in The Hague, and found him capable of participating in the crimes against humanity case against him.
In a document dated Feb. 12, the prosecution urged the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber (PTC) I to deny the defense’s Feb. 2 request to file an appeal because it “merely disagrees” with the court’s ruling and “appears to misunderstand the process envisaged in rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence.”
It was referring to the ICC’s rules on medical examinations on the accused, which allow a chamber to designate medical experts.
The prosecution said the defense merely “misunderstood” the ICC rules on medical procedures for accused individuals when the latter questioned the decision of the PTC I, which paved the way for the confirmation of charges hearing to start on Feb. 23.
4-day hearings
The four-day hearings were postponed in September last year after the defense requested an indefinite adjournment of all pretrial proceedings on the grounds that his health is deteriorating and his cognitive ability is impaired.
The defense based its appeal on four grounds in pointing out that the PTC committed an error in its decision: When it “ignored” the evidence on Duterte’s cognitive condition, including those provided by the defense; When it rejected the defense’s request to question the appointed panel of experts; When it “failed to articulate coherently” its decision to declare Duterte “fit;” and when it limited the medical assessment to the pretrial stage.
The prosecution disputed the four arguments, stressing that the rulings were “not appealable” as it “misrepresents” the chamber’s decision.
“As such, the request does not identify any appealable issue and, ultimately, does not meet the cumulative criteria for leave to appeal under article 82(1)(d) of the Rome Statute,” the prosecution said, citing the 2002 framework that established the ICC.
49 documented cases
Duterte, who is detained at an ICC prison facility in The Hague, The Netherlands, is charged with three counts of murder as a crime against humanity for 49 incidents involving 78 people who were brutally killed vigilante-style or in police operations under an antidrug policy he implemented while he was the Davao City mayor and later the President.
In a separate filing also dated Feb. 12, the prosecution also urged the Appeals Chamber to junk the defense’s challenge on the PTC’s findings last month that Duterte should remain in detention in The Hague, on the basis of the medical findings of ICC-appointed doctors.
It was the result of the review of Duterte’s continued detention, which is done every 120 days, as part of the chamber’s mandate to determine whether risks posed by the accused in detention continue to exist.
“The defen(s)e disregards relevant reasoning of the Chamber and fails to show an error in the Chamber’s approach. In any event, even if the Appeals Chamber were to find that the Chamber committed an error in rejecting the Defence Report, it would not have materially impacted the outcome of the Decision,” the prosecution said in its 13-page response.
The camp of Duterte wanted the chamber to use a joint medical report by its own neurologist and a neuropsychologist to weigh in on Duterte’s health status.
But the PTC I earlier said it “sees no reason” to order the three-member panel of medical experts to produce another report that “exceeds its mandate.”
