THE camp of former president Rodrigo Duterte yesterday asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to “adjourn all legal proceedings in his case indefinitely,” saying the 80-year-old former leader is not fit to stand trial due to “cognitive impairment” in multiple domains.
In a 13-page submission dated September 11, lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman said that “Mr. Duterte’s condition will not improve and, for this reason, the Pre-Trial Chamber must adjourn all legal proceedings in his case indefinitely.”
Kaufman said that while the chamber has discretionary power to order a medical and/or psychological examination on Duterte and given the “extensive medical information” that has been furnished to the chamber, “the Defense does not believe that further medical examination is necessary to grant the relief sought.”
He said medical and psychological evaluations done on Duterte have been shared with the prosecution and with the Office of the Public Council of Victims (OPCV).
“All of the medical information collated leads to the overwhelming conclusion that Mr. Duterte suffers from significant cognitive deficiencies that affect his memory, his daily executive functioning, his visuo-constructive abilities, and his orientation to place and time while, simultaneously, limiting his capacity for complex reasoning,” Kaufman said.
He said Duterte’s deficiencies were diagnosed not just by two defense experts but also by “a neuropsychologist instructed by the Medical Center at the ICC Detention Center at the specific request of the Registrar.”
“For this reason, the medical data presented to the Pre-Trial Chamber is neither partisan nor self-serving,” he said.
In the pleading, Kaufman bared that Duterte underwent a CT scan last May 16, followed by another medical test on May 28.
Two further diagnostic procedures were also conducted on the former president – a head MRI and a neuro-psychological evaluation.
Kaufman said that on July 17, they received a neuropsychological evaluation performed by an unnamed expert appointed by an equally anonymous ICC DC Medical Officer, which indicated that a decline in Duterte’s memory, executive functioning, and visuo-constructive abilities.
In summary, Kaufman said the findings showed Duterte is not fit to stand the rigors of a trial.
He stressed that Duterte’s state of health directly impacts on the exercise of his procedural rights, which are essential for him to benefit from a fair trial.
“With his impaired memory and concomitant inability to retain new information or to recall even places, timing, or even members of his close family and Defense team, Mr. Duterte is unable to fully understand the nature and implications of the proceedings conducted against him. His deficient memory also entails an inability to follow the litigation and to make informed decision. Consequently, and crucially, Mr. Duterte is unable to contribute to his own defense, rendering his participation in the proceedings totally ineffective,” he added.
Kaufman has appealed to the Marcos administration to let Duterte return home and face charges in the country instead of in the ICC where he is facing crimes against humanity charges.
The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber 1 has postponed the September 23 confirmation of charges hearing against Duterte.
It has yet to resolve the defense team’s request for interim release of Duterte, which the Office of the Prosecutor and the OPCV have opposed.
