Former Philippine President Rodrigo Dutee failed to attend a person in an international criminal court on Friday, inaugurating crimes against the hearing of humanity on their deadly cracks on drugs.
The 79-year-old, the first former-Asian state head to face allegations in the ICC, followed by a small hearing to inform him of the crimes he had accused, as well as his rights as a defendant.
Wearing a weak and blue suit and tie, he spoke briefly to confirm his name and date of birth. Presiding Judge Eulia Motoque allowed them to follow the proceedings in absence due to their long flight for the Hague.
His lawyer Salvador Medialdia told the court that his client was “abducted from his country.”
“He was briefly taken to the Hague. This is an extraordinary rendering for lawyers. It is a pure and simple kidnapping for less legal brains,” said Medialdia.
Medialdea also said that Duterte was adding “weak medical issues”, “adding:” In addition to identifying himself, he is not able to contribute to this hearing. ,
During the proceedings, Duterte appeared in sleep, closing his eyes for a long time.
But Motoque told Dutee: “The court doctor was of the opinion that you were completely mentally aware and fit”. He set the date of 23 September for the next phase of the process, a hearing to confirm the allegations.
Duterte has alleged a crime against humanity of murder against drug users and dealers on his years’ campaign that rights groups said thousands of people were killed.
In the application of the prosecutor for his arrest, he stated that Duterte’s alleged crime “was part of a comprehensive and systematic attack directed against the civilian population in the Philippines.”
The prosecutor alleged about the campaign, “potentially thousands of murders,” the campaign accused of the campaign in which most poor men were targeted, often associated with drugs without evidence.
Families of the victims have welcomed the test as an opportunity for justice, while Duterte supporters believe they were “kidnapped” and sent to Hague amidst a brilliant decline with the ruling Markos family.
Family members, lawyers and a group of human rights activists were to gather in Manila to see a vibrancy of the ICC hearing, the organizers said the organizers picked up and the Dutert Accountable Campaign Network.
– ‘Kill all of you’ –
According to international law experts, their tornado has been arrest and surrendered to the ICC, providing a welcome boon to the unrelated court, which is being attacked from all sides and has been approved by the United States.
“I arrest the arrest as a gift in a significant moment as a gift to the arrest,” told AFP, Professor of International Law at Tilberg University, Netherlands.
Earlier on Friday, his daughter Sara Dutee, Vice President of the Philippines, said that he had submitted a last minute bid to pursue the hearing.
“We are praying and hoping that the court will provide our request to move the initial appearance so that we can sit properly with the former President and discuss legal strategies because we have not yet talked to them,” he described AFP outside the court.
Duterte supporters gathered outside the Hugging Glass Building in Hague and “bring him home.”
But anti-dutarte protesters, the only Sandalo told AFP that the former president was on a test that “Hopefully despite all injustice in the world, there are still small victories that we can celebrate.”
When he landed in the Hague, the former leader appeared to accept the responsibility for his actions, said in a Facebook video: “I am telling the police, the army, that it was my job and I am responsible.”
In his application for arrest, the prosecutor quotes from some pronunciation of Dutert when he was running for the President.
They have been quoted saying that the number of criminal suspects killed will be “100,000 … I will kill you all” and the fish in Manila Bay “will be thick because I will throw you.”
On confirming the hearing of the allegations, a suspected prosecutor can challenge evidence.
Only then will the court decide whether to proceed with a test, a process that can take several months or even years.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
