ICC postpones hearing for Philippines' Duterte for health assessment

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -International Criminal Court judges on Monday postponed hearings to determine the definitive charges against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to see if the octogenarian is fit enough to follow the pre-trial proceedings in his case.

Duterte, 80, 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 and tantamount to kidnapping.

In August, his defence lawyers asked the court for an adjournment of all proceedings arguing that the former president was not fit to stand trial. Details of Duterte's alleged health conditions were redacted in the public version of the request.

On Monday, judges allowed for an indefinite postponement of the so-called confirmation of charges hearings set for September 23. But they stressed the period would be limited "to the time strictly necessary to determine whether Mr Duterte is fit to follow and participate in the pre-trial proceedings", according to a decision published on the court's website.

Many of the filings related to Duterte's health are confidential or heavily redacted and it is not clear when the court expects to rule on his fitness to follow his case. It is rare for international courts to find suspects, even increasingly elderly suspects, wholly unfit for trial.

The ICC has never found a suspect unfit for trial despite several other defendants' petitions.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

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