MANILA (Reuters) -Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has petitioned the International Criminal Court to allow his interim release to another country, his lawyer said in a filing, citing his advanced age and a vow not to flee or commit any further crimes.
Duterte was arrested and taken to The Hague in March on murder charges linked to his “war on drugs”, where thousands of alleged narcotics peddlers and users were killed. He has maintained his arrest was unlawful.
Duterte’s counsel Nicholas Kaufman told the ICC’s pre-trial chamber that a third country had already expressed its “advance and principled agreement to receive Mr. Duterte onto its territory”, according to the request released on Thursday. The name of the country was redacted in the text released to the public.
Duterte is not a flight risk and will not commit further crimes if released, his counsel said.
“Mr Duterte is no longer the President of the Philippines, and does not command the same influence or power he is said to have abused during the period of the alleged crimes,” the request stated.
Duterte cited “humanitarian reasons” in his request, saying that he is already 80 years old.
The request also said the prosecution would not oppose Duterte’s interim release as long as certain undisclosed terms are met. The office of the prosecutor did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside office hours.
ICC assistant to counsel Kristina Conti, who represents drug war victims, told broadcaster DZMM that her clients have opposed Duterte’s interim release from the start.
Duterte was swept to power in 2016 on a signature campaign to eradicate drug use in the country. During his six years in office, 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations, according to government data. Rights groups say the actual toll was far greater.
Despite his detention, he overwhelmingly won as mayor in his home city of Davao during midterm elections.
(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by David Stanway)
