ICC rejects Duterte's request for release from detention pending trial

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -International Criminal Court judges have rejected a request by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's defence lawyers to release him from detention pending trial, court documents made public on Friday show.

Lawyers for the octogenarian say he is unfit to stand trial because of cognitive impairment and asked for his interim release on those grounds, as well as arguing that he would not pose a flight risk or endanger the court's proceedings.

Judges, however, ruled that Duterte needed to stay in the ICC detention centre in The Hague to ensure he will show up for trial and not endanger the court's ongoing investigation.

Duterte was arrested and taken to The Hague in March on an arrest warrant that linked him to murders committed during his "war on drugs" in the Philippines, where thousands of alleged narcotics peddlers and users were killed.

He has maintained his arrest was unlawful and tantamount to kidnapping.

Judges found that Duterte's alleged medical conditions do not remove the risks posed by an interim release.

The court is still considering a defence motion that argues that the former Philippine leader is unfit to stand trial. No date has been set for that decision.

In their ruling on an interim release, they state specifically that the issue of fitness to stand trial is factually and legally separate from their decision on his release. It is rare for international courts to find suspects, even increasingly elderly suspects, wholly unfit for trial.

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

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