12/06/2025
INTERIM RELEASE FOR DUTERTE!
BREAKING: Former president Rodrigo Duterte seeks interim release from detention to an undisclosed country.
In a filing dated June 12, his lawyer Nicholas Kaufman said the government of an undisclosed country has expressed its willingness to received Duterte onto its territory.
“Mr. Duterte is not a flight risk, and custody is not necessary to ensure his appearance before the Court,” the filing read.
“Accordingly, there is more than good reason to believe that Mr. Duterte would not embarrass his hosts, and the hospitality afforded him, by violating the terms of his release,” it added.
The undisclosed country is a state party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the ICC.
The defense claimed that Duterte “will not continue to commit crimes” should his request for interim release is granted, saying “he will be residing well outside the geographic scope of the alleged crimes,” referring to the Philippines.
Kaufman also claimed that the prosection “has confirmed its non-opposition to interim release” of Duterte, provided that certain terms and conditions are met.
“He does not pose an objective risk of flight, nor is his arrest necessary to ensure the integrity of the investigations or to preclude the continued commission of crimes. He must, as a result, be immediately released from ICC custody,” added Kaufman.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I will rule on the request after the filing of observations from parties, including the prosecution and the victims.
Duterte is detained at the ICC Detention Centre in Scheveningen, The Hague since March. | via Janvic Mateo
Via PhilStar
