Marilyn Cahatol

A picture taken on November 23, 2015 shows the courtroom of the new International Criminal Court (ICC) building in The Hague, The Netherlands. AFP PHOTO / ANP / MARTIJN BEEKMAN +++ NETHERLANDS OUT / AFP PHOTO / ANP / Martijn Beekman

Article (news)

Jonathan Magistrado

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has urged the Appeals Chamber to reject the appeal by former President Rodrigo Duterte seeking his interim release, arguing that the defense failed to establish any legal or factual error in the original decision to keep him in custody.</p><p>The response, a public redacted version of a filing dated October 31, defends the September 26 decision by Pre-Trial Chamber I to deny Duterte&#x27;s request for interim release under the Rome Statute.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/28/icc-orders-public-versions-of-duterte-appeal-documents-1438"><strong>ICC orders public versions of Duterte appeal documents</strong></a></div><p>The Pre-Trial Chamber found that Duterte’s continued detention was necessary on three key grounds: </p><p>• To ensure his appearance at trial</p><p>• To ensure he does not obstruct or endanger the investigation or court proceedings</p><p>• And to ensure he does not continue with the commission of crimes alleged.</p><p>The Prosecution contends that the Appeals Chamber should dismiss the appeal, which it said only asserts the Defense&#x27;s disagreement with the decision, mischaracterizes the chamber&#x27;s reasoning, &quot;and misstates and misunderstands the applicable law&quot;.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/10/icc-rejects-duterte-s-interim-release-plea-1714"><strong>ICC rejects Duterte’s interim release bid</strong></a><br/><br/></div><div><strong>RISK OF FLIGHT AND OBSTRUCTION</strong></div><p>Central to the Prosecution&#x27;s argument is the defense of the evidentiary threshold used to determine risk.</p><p>The OTP stressed that the Chamber correctly determined that detention &quot;appears necessary&quot; in light of the possibility that the statutory risks would occur.</p><p>The Prosecution rejected the Defense&#x27;s claim that the Chamber relied on &quot;hypothetical and non-specific risks.&quot;</p><p>Instead, the OTP pointed to several factors supporting the risk of flight and obstruction, including the support network and influence, the family&#x27;s reaction, and the use of public sources.</p><p>The OTP said, Duterte&#x27;s political contacts and network of support, including his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, and his recent election as mayor of Davao, were noted as examples of his continued influence.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/29/victims-counsel-urges-rejection-of-duterte-appeal-against-detention-0750"><strong>Victims&#x27; lawyer urges rejection of Duterte appeal against detention</strong></a></div><p>&quot;Similarly, the Appeals Chamber has noted that &#x27;access to international contacts could provide the means to enable a suspect to abscond, whether or not there was evidence that the suspect would actually utilize such contacts&#x27;.&quot;</p><p>The Prosecution also confirmed that long-standing ICC jurisprudence permits reliance on public sources such as newspaper articles and NGO reports, even if they contain hearsay, to assess whether continued detention &quot;appeared necessary&quot;.</p><p>&quot;It is both rational and — as the Court’s jurisprudence demonstrates — uncontroversial to conclude that the risk of an accused absconding increases with the severity of the punishment they face and the confirmation of charges against them,&quot; it also said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/30/icc-chamber-names-presiding-judge-in-duterte-jurisdiction-appeal-2320"><strong>ICC chamber names presiding judge in Duterte jurisdiction appeal</strong></a></div><div><br/><strong>PROPOSED CONDITIONS AND HEALTH GROUNDS </strong></div><p>On the matter of proposed release conditions, the Prosecution argued that the Pre-Trial Chamber was justified in finding them insufficient to mitigate the identified risks.</p><p>The Prosecution also addressed the defense&#x27;s argument regarding Duterte&#x27;s health, reiterating the Chamber’s finding that his claimed health issues did not sufficiently mitigate the detention risks he presents.</p><p>While acknowledging that a detainee&#x27;s health can influence judicial discretion, the Prosecution noted that the Chamber found the defense had not substantiated how detention was so harmful to Duterte’s health as to justify his release.</p><p>&quot;[T]he issue of Mr Duterte’s fitness is has yet to be evaluated and the Prosecution does not accept that there is any basis to conclude that Mr. Duterte is not fit to stand trial,&quot; it said, adding it is unclear what legal standards or thresholds the Defense used in its assessment. </p><p>&quot;The reports are thus insufficient to make determinations regarding Mr Duterte’s fitness.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/10/29/duterte-camp-appeals-icc-jurisdiction-ruling-0735"><strong>Duterte camp appeals ICC jurisdiction ruling</strong></a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NGKPEKynG7Y?si=mgamqvsaVitS9S0W" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" spellcheck="false"></iframe></div>

<p>The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has urged the Appeals Chamber to reject the appeal by former President Rodrigo Duterte seeking his interim release, arguing that the defense failed to establish any legal or factual error in the original decision.</p>

The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has urged the Appeals Chamber to reject the appeal by former President Rodrigo Duterte seeking his interim release, arguing that the defense failed to establish any legal or factual error in the original decision.

ICC Prosecution urges Appeals Chamber to keep Rodrigo Duterte detained

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ICC Prosecution urges Appeals Chamber to keep Rodrigo Duterte detained

Jonathan Magistrado,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 01, 2025 08:30 AM PHT

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ICC

Rodrigo Duterte

The Hague

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