00:00The International Criminal Court has confirmed crimes against humanity charges
00:05against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, setting the stage for a full trial.
00:10Judges found there were substantial grounds to believe that the 80-year-old was responsible for dozens of murders,
00:16first as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president.
00:24The three-judge panel identified Duterte's role in the murders of 76 people
00:29and the attempted murder of two others as part of his so-called War on Drugs,
00:34which prosecutors say killed thousands of civilians in the Philippines.
00:39Duterte has long insisted he instructed police to use lethal force only in self-defense
00:44and has consistently defended the crackdown.
00:47He was arrested in the Philippines in March last year
00:50and has since been detained at an ICC facility in The Hague.
00:54The Philippines formally withdrew from the ICC in 2018
00:58and Duterte's defense had argued the court therefore had no jurisdiction over the case.
01:03But appeals judges upheld an earlier ruling that the case can proceed,
01:08rejecting the defense's bid for his immediate release.
Comments