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From taunting former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to threatening a shootout ought to the ICC attempt to arrest him, Duterte is now resigned to the considered spending the remainder of his days in The Hague
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte will endure pre-trial proceedings later in the present day (5 pm Manila time) at The Hague in the exact same court docket he taunted, mocked, and threatened for a few years.
“I’m asking the ICC to rush up, and if potential, they’ll come right here and begin the investigation tomorrow,” Duterte stated in November 2024, when he confronted the Home of Representatives and admitted there have been actually rewards for policemen who “solved” large circumstances, together with those who ended up in killed.
Earlier that yr within the Senate, Duterte additionally admitted that he goaded policemen into upsetting suspects, simply so they may have an excuse to shoot and kill.
Duterte’s public remarks have change into a part of the prosecution’s proof in charging the ex-president with three counts of homicide that make up crimes in opposition to humanity. “The impact of Duterte’s speeches is mirrored, for instance, within the assertion of [redacted] that police grew to become ‘much more brave’ ‘to kill’ after listening to the President’s speeches,” learn a part of the prosecution’s pre-confirmation temporary.
Harry Roque, who was presidential spokesperson underneath Duterte and an off-the-cuff adviser on ICC, stated he “by no means” thought the case would attain this level. “I by no means imagined past my wildest creativeness that the ICC will train jurisdiction over the Philippines which had withdrawn their membership,” Roque advised Rappler over a Zoom interview on Sunday, February 22.
“[Jurisdiction] is the strongest protection as a result of if there’s no jurisdiction then he goes residence,” Roque stated.
Lead protection lawyer Nicholas Kaufman has enlisted the assistance of Dov Jacobs, a French lawyer whose scholarly work on jurisdiction had as soon as been cited by two ICC judges, and who thought that the court docket had certainly misplaced jurisdiction over the Philippines. Their dissenting views misplaced.
Kaufman has appealed their newest loss on jurisdiction, and it has remained pending to today.
One yr in The Hague
Whereas there are 13 lively investigations within the ICC proper now, there are solely three circumstances the place there’s a suspect in custody – the Philippines, Libya and Central African Republic. (Others are convicts already serving their sentences.)
“I feel the ICC is combating for its survival. And so they want a former president to assist them as a result of in any other case they’d have an empty caseload,” stated Roque.
From taunting former prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, to threatening a shootout ought to the ICC attempt to arrest him, Duterte is now resigned to the considered spending the remainder of his days in The Hague, contained in the chilly Schveningen advanced the place battle criminals are additionally detained.
Duterte stated in a letter final week that he wished that the ICC would “respect my peace contained in the cell it has positioned me,” and “I’ve accepted the truth that I might die in jail.”
Exterior the jail advanced, Duterte’s standees have taken on an virtually worship-like significance for loyal supporters who secured permission to assemble every day from 10 am to six pm. On Sunday, February 22, a Filipino girl named Elsie Milan prayed over one of many standees.
Milan stated she traveled from Vienna to The Hague as a result of, she claimed, “I used to be urgently known as by God.” That day, supporters shared home made Filipino snacks — ginataang mais, a candy corn rice pudding — utilizing wood spoons engraved with the phrases “Rodrigo Duterte ceaselessly.”
“Why would you assist a assassin?” requested 29-year-old Sheerah Escudero, sister of a young person killed in 2017 by vigilantes. Escudero had flown in from Manila, sacrificing per week’s price of wages from her job as digital assistant.
“It’s about time we test ourselves, sino ba ang tinatangkilik natin, at bakit natin jina-justify ang killings?” Escudero stated. (It’s about time we test ourselves, who’re we supporting, and why are we justifying killings?)
– Rappler.com
