Lawyers for former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, currently detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC), have filed a motion demanding the nullification of his case and his immediate release, as per Bloomberg.
Duterte was arrested in Manila in March on charges of crimes against humanity related to his administration’s controversial “war on drugs.”
In a submission to the ICC’s pre-trial chamber on May 1, lawyers Nicholas Kaufman and Dov Jacobs argued that the ICC lacks jurisdiction in the Philippines following the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019.
“The Defence requests the Pre-Trial Chamber find that there is no legal basis for the continuation of the proceedings against Mr Rodrigo Roa Duterte and to order his immediate and unconditional release,” the submission stated.
Duterte, who governed the Philippines from 2016 to 2022, was flown to The Hague hours after his arrest and placed into ICC custody. His lawyers contend that the ICC’s assertion of jurisdiction is invalid given the Philippines’ withdrawal from the international treaty.
The ICC has previously stated that it retains jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in the Philippines between November 2011, when the country became a state party to the Rome Statute, and its withdrawal in March 2019.
This latest legal maneuver by Duterte’s defense team comes just ahead of the Philippines’ midterm elections scheduled for May 12th. Duterte himself is vying for the mayoral position in southern Davao City, a role he previously held before his ascent to the presidency in 2016.
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