Former Philippines leader Duterte in court over war on drugs’ murder charges

The former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, appeared before judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague yesterday, days after his arrest in Manila on murder charges linked to the deadly “war on drugs” that he oversaw while in office.

- ALASTAIR JAMIESON

The 79-year-old, who arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday after being arrested in Manila on charges of crimes against humanity, sounded frail as he spoke via video link from the detention centre about a mile away where he is being held.

For families of victims of the drugs crackdown, Mr Duterte’s appearance in court was a long-awaited sign of hope. “This is the first step to attaining justice,” lawyer Gilbert Andres, representing those families, said outside the court.

But Mr Duterte’s many vocal supporters say the arrest was illegal. His lawyer, Salvador Medialdea, used the hearing to decry his arrest in Manila as a “pure and simple kidnapping”. He said Mr Duterte “was denied all access to the legal recourse in the country of his citizenship, and this all in the nature of political score-settling”.

Presiding judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc set a pre-trial hearing date of 23 September to establish if the prosecution’s evidence is strong enough to merit sending the case to trial. If a trial does go ahead, it could take years, and if Mr Duterte is convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.