Rody to appear before ICC judges

Pre-trial set for crime vs. humanity case

Former President Rodrigo Duterte will be taken to the International Criminal Court’s detention unit in the Netherlands as he arrived at Rotterdam past midnight today (Thursday).

The 79-year-old Duterte, who is facing a crime against humanity charge stemming from his crackdown on drugs, will be readied for an initial appearance before the court’s judges.

Here’s what he can expect:

Located in The Hague’s seaside suburb of Scheveningen, the ICC’s detention unit forms part of a Dutch prison and currently holds five other ICC prisoners being tried before the court.

It is also the prison that used to detain those wanted by the nearby International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) including the likes of Slobodan Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic.

“In fulfilling its mandate, the ICC Registrar endeavors to ensure the mental, physical and spiritual welfare of the detained persons within an efficient system of detention, with consideration to their cultural diversity and their development as individuals,” the ICC says on its website.

Prisoners all have individual cells equipped with computers, but no access to the internet, to allow them to work on their cases.

The cells also have a bed, desk, shelves, a cupboard, toilet, hand basin, television and an intercom to speak to guards when the cell is locked.

Prisoners like Duterte may also use an outdoor exercise area and take part in sports and recreation activities.

Three meals a day are served, but there is also a communal kitchen where detainees can cook with groceries provided from a shopping list “in order for them to adjust the meals provided to them, according to their taste and cultural requirements.”

Detainees may receive family or conjugal visits “several times a year” and if they are declared destitute, the court foots the bill for the visits “to the extent possible.”

ICC rules say all detainees “shall appear before the Pre-Trial Chamber, in the presence of the prosecutor, promptly upon arrival at the court.”

This hearing aims to verify a suspect’s identity and to inform the arrested person of the crimes he or she is accused of.

Prisoners are informed of their rights under the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, including the right to apply for interim release.

Pre-trial judges will then set a date on which it will hold a confirmation of charges hearing.

The Rome Statute says that within a reasonable amount of time after a person’s surrender or detention, the Pre-Trial Chamber shall hold a hearing to “confirm the charges on which the prosecutor intends to seek trial.”

At that hearing, the prosecutor must convince judges that substantial grounds exist “to believe that the person committed the crime(s) charged” and that enough evidence had been gathered to hold a trial.

The ICC’s judges may at the end of the hearing either confirm the charges and send the accused to a trial chamber, or say more evidence is needed from the prosecutor, modify the charges, or drop the charges altogether.

Once the charges have been confirmed, the court’s presidency puts together a trial chamber to prepare and then conduct a trial.

According to Kristina Conti, an ICC-accredited counsel representing victims of the drug war, Duterte will get “a far better treatment” than many Filipino suspects.

“I am happy that Duterte saw for himself the right process, and that he was not subjected to tokhang,” Conti said.

Malacañang, for its part, rejected claims that Duterte’s arrest amounted to “state kidnapping.”

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the arrest was carried out under due process and backed by legal authority.

“How can it be kidnapping when there was a warrant of arrest? It was issued by an authority, by the court. Once a court issues an order, we have to comply, especially since this was done through Interpol,” she said.

The Department of Justice added the government strictly adhered to domestic and international legal procedures.

The DOJ explained that despite the country’s withdrawal from the ICC in 2019, it remains a member state of the Interpol. — Charles Dantes & Pot Chavez with AFP