Philippines ex-president Duterte's appeal for release denied by ICC judges

The International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected on Wednesday the petition of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte questioning the Chamber's jurisdiction over him, rejecting all of his four grounds of appeal.

ICC’s Appeals Chamber said the Court’s investigation started as early as 2018 before Rodrigo ordered the country’s withdrawal from the Rome Statute in 2019. This means the ICC has jurisdiction over the former Philippine who has been detained at The Hague since March 2025 over charges of crimes against humanity.

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Duterte's defence lawyers argued that the ICC had no jurisdiction over the case. But the appeals judges confirmed a lower court ruling that the case could continue and rejected the defence's demands to immediately release the former president, who last month celebrated his 81st birthday at detention centre in Scheveningen.

The ICC raised the fact that a preliminary examination — a precursor to a formal investigation — had already started before the Philippines withdrew its membership in 2019, noting it was enough to trigger continuing jurisdiction over the alleged crimes.

Prosecutors argued Duterte created, funded and armed death squads to target and kill alleged narcotics peddlers and users when he was in power between 2016 and 2022. Duterte has long insisted he instructed police to kill only in self-defence and has always defended his so-called 'war on drugs.'

(With inputs from Reuters)