The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has denied the request of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team for his interim release from detention, affirming an earlier ruling that he should remain under custody in the Netherlands.
In a decision released Friday night, the appellate judges upheld the Jan. 26 ruling of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, which ordered that Duterte remain detained at the ICC Detention Center while proceedings continue, citing concerns that he may pose a flight risk if released.
“The Appeals judges unanimously confirm the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I, which had remanded Mr. Duterte in detention,” ICC spokesperson Oriane Maillet said in a statement.
Maillet added that the appellate panel dismissed all arguments presented by Duterte’s defense team.
“The Appeals Chamber rejected or dismissed all of the Defense’s arguments and rejected the Defense’s ground of appeal in its entirety,” she said.
Duterte’s lawyers had earlier argued that the Pre-Trial Chamber committed both factual and legal errors when it declined to consider a medical report submitted by the defense, which raised concerns about the former president’s health condition.
The defense claimed the chamber abused its discretion by disregarding the report simply because it came from a party involved in the proceedings.
However, the Appeals Chamber ruled that the medical submission did not provide any new or independent information about Duterte’s health, noting that the two doctors cited in the report did not conduct a fresh medical examination of the former president.
Judges also stressed that evaluating detention risks—including whether Duterte’s health could affect those risks—is a legal determination that falls under the authority of the Pre-Trial Chamber.
The appellate body said such assessments do not necessarily require additional input from medical practitioners when the court already has sufficient basis to determine the matter.
