Prosecutors from the International Criminal Court (ICC) have endorsed the appointment of three medical specialists to evaluate former President Rodrigo Duterte’s mental and physical fitness to stand trial for alleged crimes against humanity linked to his administration’s war on drugs.
In a redacted public version of the “Prosecution’s Observations on the Registry Submission of a Shortlist of Medical Experts,” ICC Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang supported the creation of a multidisciplinary panel composed of experts in forensic psychiatry, neuropsychology, and behavioural neurology.
The document was released by the tribunal on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
“The Prosecution supports the appointment of a multidisciplinary panel of experts for the assessment of Mr. Duterte’s fitness to stand trial,” the filing stated, adding that the recommended specialists have confirmed their availability to conduct the evaluation between September and October.
The Prosecution objected to a potential expert proposed by Duterte’s defense team, warning that her inclusion could “raise issues of potential bias.”
Earlier, the ICC Registry ruled that the tribunal’s medical officer was not authorized to conduct the assessment of Duterte’s fitness for trial.
The former Philippine leader is detained at the Hague Penitentiary Institution, also known as the Scheveningen Prison, facing charges of crimes against humanity linked to the thousands of deaths in police anti-drug operations under his administration.
Government records list over 6,000 deaths during the campaign, but human rights groups estimate the toll could reach 30,000, including unreported cases. Duterte has consistently denied the allegations.
ICC medical report questioned
Meanwhile, Duterte’s lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman, in a separate filing, raised objections to the release and handling of his client’s medical information, calling the process “unprecedented and ethically questionable.”
Kaufman said he was shown only a portion of the “Report on the Assessment by the Medical Officer of the Detention Centre” and was not permitted to take the factual report outside the ICC facility.
He also claimed there was no written consent from Duterte authorizing the disclosure of his medical details.
“The validity of the so-called informed written ‘consent’ [REDACTED] claims to have received from Mr. Duterte is strenuously disputed,” Kaufman wrote, adding that the person who obtained the consent allegedly suffers from a “cognitive impairment sub judice.”
Kaufman further alleged that Duterte felt intimidated by an individual whose name was withheld in the document, and that repeated notifications about his client’s health condition were ignored by the ICC Registry.
The defense maintained that the Prosecution’s handling of the matter violated ethical standards, arguing that the procedures surrounding Duterte’s medical assessment “must be reviewed to ensure fairness and transparency.” (Argyll Geducos)
