Posts circulating online are resurfacing a claim that International Criminal Court Judge Joanna Korner said former president Rodrigo Duterte should not be imprisoned. This is fake.
On July 28, two Facebook users uploaded a graphic card featuring a photo of Korner, who serves as the presiding judge of ICC Trial Chamber III, the body that handles Duterte’s case. A quote attributed to the British judge was similar to the claim in a bogus post fact-checked by VERA Files in June.
The text on the card read:
“Rodrigo Duterte should not be imprisoned
– Judge Joanna Korner
International Criminal Court
• The Philippines is no longer an ICC member.
• The ICC therefore has no jurisdiction
• It would be unlawful to arrest and hold him”
In an email dated July 28, the ICC Public Affairs Unit told VERA Files Fact Check, “This statement is incorrect and is not attributable to Judge Korner.”
It noted that all public statements of the ICC, including that of the presiding judge, are available in news releases, filings and public hearings transcripts that can be sourced from the ICC news and statements portal.
“We would be grateful for your support in helping to counter this misinformation, to reinforce that the statement attributed to Judge Korner is entirely false and does not reflect any position expressed by the Court or the Judge,” it added.
The claim that the Court lacks jurisdiction over Duterte’s case is also not true. In April 22, the ICC Appeals Chamber upheld the court’s jurisdiction over drug war killings committed when the Philippines was still a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.
Under Article 127 of the Rome Statute, a country’s withdrawal shall not “prejudice in any way the continued consideration of any matter which was already under consideration by the Court prior to the date on which the withdrawal became effective.”
The Appeals Chamber affirmed the earlier ruling of the pre-trial judges that the case was already “under consideration” by the ICC prosecutor even before the Philippines’ withdrawal took effect in 2019.
Contrary to the claim, the Trial Chamber III on May 22 ordered the continued detention of the former president due to “real and substantial risk” that he may abscond or obstruct justice, either on his own or through his network of supporters and family members. The chamber noted that Duterte’s alleged failing health conditions do not outweigh those risks.
Duterte’s trial is already set to begin on Nov. 30 in connection to thousands of drug war killings committed during his term as Davao City mayor and later as president.
The false post emerged a day before pro-Duterte supporters gathered in front of the ICC headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands to call for the freedom of the former leader. Days earlier, netizens also circulated fake claims that Duterte will be released next week.
Published by an FB user, the post has so far received 4,400 reactions; 318 comments; and 215 shares.
