Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team is preparing to seek interim release from the International Criminal Court (ICC), though no specific timeline has been set for filing the request.
Atty. Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s lead counsel, explained after visiting him at Scheveningen Prison in The Hague that Duterte has the right to apply for interim release, provided certain conditions are met.
Kaufman laid out the three key considerations: risk of fleeing, risk of tampering with evidence or witnesses, and risk of committing further crimes. “None of those risks apply to Mr. Duterte,” he said. “So yes, we are working on his interim release, but when we’ll file the application is still being discussed.”
When asked about Vice President Sara Duterte’s remarks questioning the sufficiency of evidence against her father, Kaufman declined to respond directly. He stressed that while victims have a role in the process, the validity of the evidence will be argued in court—not through the media.
Sara Duterte recently challenged the ICC prosecution’s claim of 30,000 drug war victims, questioning how such a number could be proven without listing all the names, especially since only 181 pieces of evidence were presented and just 43 counts of murder are cited.
However, human rights lawyer Kristina Conti countered that a systematic attack doesn’t require naming all victims to prove crimes against humanity. This view aligns with ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah’s statement that even a single case can be considered such a crime if it’s part of a broader, planned attack.
Kaufman also shared that Duterte had asked his supporters not to interfere with the ongoing judicial process. While the former president expressed gratitude for the celebrations held during his 80th birthday, he insists that the ICC case should be respected and allowed to proceed independently of political movements back home.
Duterte was arrested in Manila on March 11, shortly after returning from Hong Kong, and was transferred to ICC custody in The Hague on March 13. His initial appearance before the court was held via video link the next day. The next hearing on the confirmation of charges is scheduled for September 23, 2025.