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Judges at the International Criminal Court on Thursday confirmed crimes against humanity charges against former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte for deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he allegedly oversaw while in office.
A three-judge panel found unanimously there were “substantial grounds” to believe the ex-leader was responsible for dozens of murders, first as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president.
Duterte, 80, was arrested in the Philippines last year and denies the charges against him.
In their 50-page decision, judges found that the evidence shows that Duterte “developed, disseminated and implemented” a policy “to ‘neutralize’ alleged criminals.”
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According to prosecutors, police and hit squad members carried out dozens of murders at Duterte’s behest, motivated by the promise of money or to avoid becoming targets themselves.
“For some, killing reached the level of a perverse form of competition,” deputy prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang told the court in pretrial hearings in February.
A date for the start of the trial has not yet been set.
Duterte’s lead defense lawyer Nick Kaufman told judges during the February hearings that he “stands behind his legacy resolutely, and he maintains his innocence absolutely.”
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Kaufman argued that the prosecution “cherry-picked” examples of Duterte’s “bombastic rhetoric,” and his client’s words were never intended to incite violence.
Estimates of the death toll during Duterte’s presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported to up to 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.
Duterte has not been present in the courtroom for any hearings, having waived his right to appear. Last month judges found he was fit to stand trial, after postponing an earlier hearing over concerns about his health.
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ICC prosecutors said in 2018 that they would open a preliminary investigation into the violent drug crackdowns. In a move that human rights activists say was aimed at avoiding accountability, Duterte, who was president at the time, announced a month later that the Philippines would leave the court.
On Wednesday, appeals judges rejected a request from Duterte’s legal team to throw out the case on the grounds that the court did not have jurisdiction because of the Philippine withdrawal.