(14 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Hague – 14 March 2025
1. Wide of International Criminal Court
2. Wide of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appearing via videolink
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Harry Roque, former spokesperson for ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and lawyer seeking to represent him in the ICC case:
"We are very much disappointed that the court did not address the issue of kidnapping as a means to divest the court of jurisdiction. We think that the ICC should again set an example in promoting international justice and when kidnapping is allowed as a means of acquiring jurisdiction over the jurisdiction of the accused, we think this too is a travesty of justice. ++DIP TO WHITE++ You cannot correct a wrong by committing another wrong. I think it is high time that the court clarified its position on this matter. It is unacceptable that we accept or accept jurisdiction acquired through kidnapping, especially when the kidnapping took place in the context of the Philippines, where the court is now being used as a tool of oppression by the Marcos government."
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
Rodrigo Duterte’s former presidential spokesperson said on Friday that the arrest of the ex-president was "kidnapping" , and also questioning the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over the Philippines.
Harry Roque, also a lawyer seeking to represent him in the ICC case, said the question of jurisdiction over the Philippines, which withdrew from the global court when Duterte was president, should be addressed before any further proceedings.
Earlier, 79-year-old Duterte appeared before international court judges on a video screen from the detention center where he is being held, about a mile (1½ kilometers) away.
His appearance comes days after his arrest in Manila on murder charges linked to the deadly “war on drugs” he oversaw while in office.
Sara Duterte met Friday afternoon with her father in the detention center for the first time since his arrest, Roque said.
"We look up to the ICC as a model for international justice, and the fact that it has taken two days for a family member to see the accused, I think does not speak well of the practices of the court," Roque said.
"You cannot correct a wrong by committing another wrong," he told reporters outside the courthouse, of the arrest.
"It is unacceptable that we accept or accept jurisdiction acquired through kidnapping, especially when the kidnapping took place in the context of the Philippines, where the court is now being used as a tool of oppression by the Marcos government," Roque added.
Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc set a pretrial hearing date of Sept. 23 to establish if prosecution evidence is strong enough to merit sending the case to trial.
If a trial does go ahead, it could take years, and if Duterte is convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The judge said that Duterte had been allowed to participate in his first ICC hearing by videoconference because he had just come off a long flight.
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