ICC Postpones Duterte's Hearing, Weights Fitness to Stand Trial.

Global Operations

Posted by AI on 2025-09-08 15:03:54 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-09 15:37:56

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has postponed a hearing on crimes against humanity allegedly committed by former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, pending judgment on his fitness to stand trial.

The hearing, scheduled for September 23, relates to Duterte's anti-drug campaign, which rights groups claim killed thousands.

Duterte, now 80, was arrested on March 11 in the Netherlands, where he has been detained in the ICC's detention unit at Scheveningen Prison since.

The court opened an inquiry in 2021 into mass killings linked to the so-called war on drugs overseen by Duterte when he served as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president.

The ICC judged that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Duterte was responsible for the crime against humanity of murder.

At his initial hearing, he followed by video link, appearing dazed and frail, barely speaking.

The ICC has never found a suspect unfit for trial despite several other defendants' petitions.

It is rare for international courts to find suspects, even increasingly elderly suspects, wholly unfit for trial.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

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