The legal team of former President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to suspend its decision on his earlier petition for interim release. This unexpected move comes just a month after Duterte’s lawyers initially appealed for temporary release, citing humanitarian grounds such as his old age and health condition.
The July 18 request from defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman asked the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber to delay ruling “until such time as the Defence has assembled all information necessary.”
Duterte has been detained at the ICC facility in The Hague since March 12, following his arrest in Manila, over charges of crimes against humanity linked to the deadly war on drugs during his term.
Previously, his legal team claimed that a government had expressed “principled agreement” to host Duterte if released. However, the latest filing argued that the prosecution has “mischaracterized” certain key information as incomplete, preventing Duterte’s legal team from fully defending his case.
The ICC prosecution opposed the delay, accusing Duterte’s team of filing the release petition prematurely and now seeking to delay the process to make up for it. The prosecution also called the defense’s claims speculative and said they should not be allowed to stall the case further.
While much of the submissions remain redacted, Duterte’s age (80) and frail health continue to be the primary humanitarian grounds cited for his release. His lawyers also insist he no longer holds any power and thus poses no risk of influencing proceedings.
