War crimes court rejects bid to free Philippines' Duterte

Cliff Venzon, Bloomberg News on Apr 22, 2026

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The International Criminal Court’s appeals chamber ruled that the tribunal has jurisdiction over the case of ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity and rejected his bid for release.

The appeals chamber by a majority “has rejected all four grounds of appeal,” Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza said in live-streamed proceedings on Wednesday. “Having rejected the entire appeal, the appeals chamber considers that the defense’s request for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Duterte is moot.”

It was a fresh setback for the firebrand politician who has been detained in an ICC facility in The Hague since March last year. The 81-year old is facing charges related to his administration’s war on drugs that killed thousands of suspects. He waived his right to be present in the proceedings.

Duterte led the Southeast Asian nation from 2016 to 2022. Manila officially withdrew from the Rome Statute in 2019, which is central to the defense’s challenge to the ICC’s jurisdiction over the case.

The ICC’s pre-trial chamber last year ruled that the court retains jurisdiction over crimes allegedly committed while the state was still a party to the Rome Statute.

In February, the ICC held hearings to determine whether the charges against Duterte should proceed to a full-blown trial and the court is expected to soon decide on the matter.

A prosecutor said at the February hearing that the former leader played a “pivotal” role in the extra-judicial killings of suspected drug dealers and users, first as mayor of Davao City and then as president. Duterte’s defense lawyer Nicholas Kaufman then called the charges “grievously misplaced and politically motivated.”

The ICC is the world’s first permanent, international criminal court. It was established in 2002 by a treaty called the Rome Statute to hold accountable those who commit acts of mass inhumanity.