The decision of former president Rodrigo Duterte not to attend the confirmation hearings in his case of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Haque, Netherlands was a major factor in the May 22 decision of the Trial Chamber III to deny his request for interim release and for him to continue in detention at Scheveningen prison.
In deciding that “Accused shall continue to be detained,” the Chamber, presided by Judge Joanna Korner said ‘there are no changed or new circumstances that would require its modification of previous decisions to deny Duterte’s request for interim release.
The Chamber defines change in circumstances as ‘a change in some or all of the facts underlying a previous decision on detention, or a new fact satisfying a Chamber that a modification of its prior ruling is necessary.
The Chamber said former president posed a flight risk considering his “rejection of the proceedings and the will of his close family to help him elude detention and proceedings and the will of his close family to help him elude detention and prosecution.”
It also cited “the Accused’s international connections, support within the Philippines, and access to resources; and the severity of the charges as well as the potential lengthy sentence the Accused may receive if all or part of the charges were to be confirmed and he were convicted at the trial.”
During the confirmation hearings in February Duterte waived his right to attend saying “I do not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over my person. I am a Filipino citizen forcibly pushed into a jet and renditioned to The Hague in the Netherlands in flagrant contravention of my country’s Constitution and of national sovereignty. “
The Chamber said, “Such statement demonstrates at its lowest that the Accused will not comply with any orders that might be made in respect of a release from custody. “
The Chamber also said “notwithstanding the Defence’s submissions regarding the Accused’s health condition, there is a real and substantial risk that the Accused could nonetheless abscond or obstruct justice either on his own or through his associates.”
The Chamber stuck to the findings by three Court-appointed medical experts, whose reports, instead that of Duterte’s former counsel Nicholas Kaufman, that the 81-year old Duterte is fit to stand trial.
