Duterte to face ICC trial after judges confirm charges

MANILA, April 24 ------ Former president Rodrigo Duterte will face trial before the International Criminal Court after judges confirmed crimes against humanity charges tied to his war on drugs.

The Hague-based tribunal said its ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I “unanimously confirmed all the charges” against Duterte and “committed him to trial”, based on arguments and evidence presented during 4-day hearings in February. It added that pre-trial judges concluded that "there are substantial grounds to believe that Mr. Duterte is responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder" between November 1, 2011 and March 16, 2019, covering Duterte’s time as Davao City mayor and later as president. “These crimes were committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population,” it added.

The 81-year-old will be the first Asian former head of state to face trial at the ICC, which prosecutes individuals for the world's worst crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity. “Next steps: Upon the transfer of the case to a Trial Chamber, the Trial Chamber will decide on the next steps. 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, Duterte's lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman lamented how the credibility of the witnesses was never assessed at confirmation. "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’. 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 said. "The credibility of these witnesses was never assessed at confirmation. They will now be excused prosecution and will most likely be rehoused with new identities at considerable cost to the international community funding the activities of the Office of the Prosecutor," Kaufman added.

He also said that the Defense will prove that the so-called "state policy" is a "complete fiction". "At trial, the Defense will prove that the aforementioned “State policy” is a complete fiction. The Defense will also show that the evidence of very same criminal witnesses, so gleefully peddled by the former President’s many detractors, has zero weight”," Kaufman said.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com