Metro Manila, Philippines – Detained former president Rodrigo Duterte has waived his right to attend and will skip the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber’s ruling on his bid for interim release.
In a note dated Nov. 27, Duterte counsel Nicholas Kaufman informed the tribunal that his client had signed a waiver choosing not to exercise his right to appear in court for the ruling.
“The Defence hereby places on the record Mr. Duterte’s signed waiver of his right to be present on November 28, 2025, during the reading of the judgment on the Defence appeal against Pre-Trial Chamber I’s decision on interim release,” Kaufman wrote.
The court said Duterte will instead be represented by Kaufman during the hearing on Nov. 28, 5:30 p.m. (PH time).
Duterte’s camp has said that the former leader is unfit to stand trial and cited his “proven weak state of mental and physical health.”
It has appealed Duterte’s interim release and asked the tribunal to look at “humanitarian considerations.”
Duterte is facing three counts of murder over 49 deaths linked to his bloody anti-drug campaign. He is detained at Scheveningen Prison in The Hague, Netherlands
