Rodrigo Duterte is headed for trial at The Hague, where international judges say there's enough evidence to pursue crimes against humanity charges tied to his bloody anti-drug campaign. The International Criminal Court's pretrial chamber on Thursday ruled unanimously that there are "substantial grounds" to believe the former Philippine president, who served from 2016 to 2022, is responsible for murder and attempted murder in what prosecutors describe as a coordinated crackdown that claimed thousands of lives during his presidency and earlier stint as Davao City mayor, per the Guardian.
Duterte, 81, taken into custody in Manila last year and flown to the Netherlands, denies the allegations. No trial date has been scheduled, and his legal team says he's medically and cognitively unfit to stand trial. They also challenged the court's authority, an argument that the judges rebuffed. Prosecutors contend that Duterte exercised "ultimate influence and authority" over security forces, even running what some called a "death squad" while publicly vowing to kill drug suspects. Prosecutors estimated the death toll as being as high as 30,000.
Rights groups and families of those killed are calling the ICC decision a milestone. A lawyer for Duterte, who the AP notes hasn't shown up at any of his courtroom hearings after waiving his right to appear, insists the killings weren't state policy and that witness testimony will collapse under scrutiny, per the Guardian. The office of current Philippines President Fernando Marcos Jr. says he supports the ICC decision, reports Reuters. "Both sides stand to benefit from this," its statement reads. "Justice for the accused if he is innocent, or justice for the victims if their rights were indeed abused."
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