Duterte was confronted with the ICC judges in the case of drug war World News

The 79-year-old was to appear before the judges for a short hearing to be informed about the crimes he is supposed to commit, as well as his rights as a defendant.

But his daughter Sara Dutete, Vice -President of the Philippines, said she had filed a last -minute offer to move the hearing.

“We pray and hope that the court will grant our request to move the initial appearance only to be able to properly sit with the former president and discuss the legal strategies, because we have not yet talked to him,” she told AFP outside the court.

Duerte, the first head of Asian state facing the ICC accusations, is accused of crime against the humanity of murder in his campaign for years against drug users and dealers, about which the rights groups said they killed thousands.

In the request of the prosecutor for his arrest, they said that the alleged offenses of Duterte were “part of a widespread and systematically directed against the civilian population in the Philippines.”

“Tens of thousands of killings were perpetuated,” said the prosecutor in the campaign that was largely poor men, often without proof that they were tied to drugs.

The families of the victims welcomed the process as a chance to get justice, while the durable supporters think he was “kidnapped” and sent to The Hague against a spectacular fall with the Marcos family.

A group of family members, lawyers and human rights activists were to gather on Friday night in Manila to follow a live transmission of the ICC hearing, the organizers said and the duter liability campaign network.

According to experts in international law, his arrest in whirlwind and ICC surrender offers a blessing to the clogged court, which is challenged from all sides and sanctioned by the United States.

“I see the arrest and teaching of Dutete as a gift in an important time over time,” Willem Van Genugten, professor of international law at Tilburg University, told AFP.

The hearing is to take place at 14:00 local time at the Hulking Glass of ICC headquarters with headquarters in The Hague. PRO and anti-durable protests are expected outside.

As he landed at The Hague, the former leader seemed to accept responsibility for his actions, saying in a video on Facebook: “I told the police, the army, that it is my job and I am responsible.”

In his request for arrest, the prosecutor cites some of his Dutete pronunciation when he was applying for the president.

He is quoted to say that the number of murdered criminals “will become 100,000 … I will kill all”, and the fish in the Gulf Manila “will become fat because I will throw you from here.”

Duterte suffered health checks during his detention in The Hague.

The Philippines Embassy in The Hague said on his site, the former president told a consular official that he “received medical care and is generally good.”

The Durte vice -president is in the Netherlands to support his father, after labeling his arrest “oppression and persecution”, the Duterte family sought an emergency judgment from the Supreme Court to stop his transfer.

During the initial meeting, a suspect may request the provisional release while waiting for a trial, according to the ICC rules.

As a result of this first hearing, the next phase is a session confirming the accusations, at which time a suspect can challenge the prosecutor’s evidence.

Only after this hearing, the court will decide whether it will premiere with a trial, a process that could take several months or even years.

Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan welcomed Dutete’s arrest as a key moment for the victims and international justice as a whole.

“Many say that international law is not as strong as we want and agree with it. But, as I repeatedly emphasize, international law is not as weak as some might think,” Khan said in a statement after his arrival in ICC custody.

Ric/jm

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