Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte appeared before judges at the International Criminal Court by video link on Friday from the jail in The Hague where he has been held since his arrest on in Manila earlier this week.
Mr Duterte (79) – who is known to suffer from a number of illnesses, including a chronic neuromuscular disorder – appeared for the 30-minute hearing, which began an hour and a half late, wearing a blue suit, shirt and tie.
Although Mr Duterte spoke only a few words, his lawyer and executive secretary during his presidency, Salvador Medialdea, challenged the court on the “degrading manner” in which he had been arrested on Tuesday.
His arrest had come about because of “political score-settling” in the Philippines, the lawyer claimed, and had amounted to “extrajudicial rendition”.
“For less legal minds it was pure and simple kidnapping. In terms of this court, it was clear abuse of process.”
Mr Medialdea also said his client was at a clear disadvantage during the video session given that he was “hard of hearing and poor of sight”.
In addition, Mr Medialdea said he had had only one hour to consult with Mr Duterte since his arrival in The Hague on Wednesday, and as a result had no instructions to proceed further with the hearing.
Presiding judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc said, however, that the purpose of the pretrial hearing was simply to establish the identity of the defendant, his mental and physical state, and to set a date for a confirmation-of-charges hearing later.
“This is not the start of the trial, it does not represent the confirmation of charges against you, and you are not being asked to plead guilty or innocent," she told Mr Duterte.
She added that a court doctor had examined Mr Duterte and found him “fully mentally aware and fit”.
Mr Duterte was then read the charges against him, in which he is named as a “direct co-perpetrator” responsible for 19 murders carried out by the notorious Davao Death Squad during his time as mayor of that city.
He is additionally charged with 24 killings carried out by police, or others not part of the police, between 2016 and 2019, during his time as president and as part of his “war on drugs” in which up to 30,000 people are believed to have died.
Judge Motoc set September 23rd for the confirmation-of-charges hearing.
She instructed ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who was in court, to begin disclosure of documents to the defence.
However, the start of the substantive trial may not be until sometime in 2026.
Outside the court, roughly a kilometre from the jail, opponents and supporters of Mr Duterte held separate protests. His daughter, Philippines vice-president Sara Duterte-Carpio, met some supporters briefly.
