Duterte refuses to attend ICC pre-trial hearing as drug‑war case begins

The pre-trial hearing for former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte at the international criminal court begins on Monday, despite his refusal to attend. Duterte, 80, was arrested in Manila and flown to The Hague last year and is accused of crimes against humanity over an anti-drugs crackdown in which thousands of people were killed.

He announced last week he would not appear, saying he is “old, tired and frail” and experiencing memory loss, calling claims he oversaw a policy of extra-judicial killing “an outrageous lie” and saying he did not recognise the court’s jurisdiction. Judges granted a request by his defence to waive his right to attend this week’s hearings but described the reasons given as “speculative”; the court had previously ruled he was fit to attend, rejecting claims of “cognitive impairment in multiple domains”.

Families of victims, who have long waited for Duterte to face justice, accused him of cowardice.

Philippines, Manila

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