AMSTERDAM, April 23 (Bernama-dpa) -- The International Criminal Court (ICC) has cleared the way for the trial of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
As the court in The Hague announced, the judges unanimously upheld all charges related to his anti-drug campaign. The evidence is sufficient to proceed to trial, the court said.
The judges ruled that there were "substantial grounds" to believe that Duterte is responsible for crimes against humanity. It is not yet known when the trial will begin.
Prosecutors accuse the 81-year-old of crimes against humanity in the state-led war on drugs, specifically murder and attempted murder in 78 cases.
The judges had initially reviewed the evidence in a preliminary hearing.
As recently as Wednesday, the court had rejected a motion by Duterte's defence team to dismiss the case based on the ICC's jurisdiction.
The defence had also attempted to prevent the trial by citing Duterte's poor health, but that effort failed as well.
Duterte, who was president of the Philippines from 2016-22, waged a relentless fight against drug crime while in office, with an estimated 30,000 victims, according to human rights organisations.
Suspects were often summarily executed without trial.
The former president was arrested in Manila in March 2025 on the basis of an ICC warrant and flown to the Netherlands, where the Hague is located. He rejects the charges as baseless.
-- BERNAMA-dpa
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