Duterte to skip November 28 ICC hearing on interim release

November 28 ------ Former president Rodrigo Duterte has waived his right to appear at the International Criminal Court’s hearing today, November 28, where the Court will deliver its judgment on the Defense’s appeal of Pre-Trial Chamber I’s earlier decision denying his interim release.

The Defense formally placed on record Duterte’s signed waiver of his right to be physically or virtually present at the said hearing. The filing was submitted by Defense Counsel Nicholas Kaufman on Friday, November 27. The Appeals Chamber will announce its oral judgment at 10:30 a.m. in The Hague (5:30 p.m. in Manila) today.

Last September 26, Pre-Trial Chamber I rejected the Defense’s request for interim release and ordered continued detention for Duterte. Duterte has been detained for nearly nine months at the ICC Detention Centre in The Hague. He is being charged of crimes against humanity linked to alleged extrajudicial killings during the Philippine drug war and earlier operations in Davao attributed to the so-called “Davao Death Squad.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com