The legal team of detained former President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to suspend its decision on his request for interim release, citing delays in obtaining what it called “essential information.”
Prosecutors opposed the move, arguing that Duterte’s defense had filed the application prematurely and must now face the consequences.
In a redacted public copy of the defense’s request, filed on July 14 and made public on July 18, lead counsel Atty. Nicholas Kaufman urged the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I not to rule on the interim release motion until certain materials—omitted from the public version—are made available to both the Chamber and the defense.
“At the time Mr Duterte’s request for interim release was submitted on 12 June 2025, the Defence had been, for some time, seeking to obtain [REDACTED]… The Defence’s attempts to obtain [REDACTED] over the course of two months have, for the most part, been slow-walked and stymied,” the filing stated.
The defense said it had exchanged over 20 emails since May 19 regarding the missing materials, though the recipients and contents remain undisclosed.
It also accused the prosecution of mischaracterizing the incomplete documents and called on the Chamber to urgently consult the Office of the Prosecutor and the Office of Public Counsel for Victims before deciding on Duterte’s continued detention.
But the prosecution pushed back.
In its redacted response dated July 17, Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang asked the Chamber to reject the defense’s motion, arguing:
“The Defence had full control over when it filed its Request for Interim Release and chose to do so in reliance on an incomplete [REDACTED],” the prosecution wrote.
It dismissed the defense’s claim of being placed in a “highly prejudicial situation,” saying any disadvantage was self-inflicted. The prosecution also highlighted the defense’s earlier insistence on urgency:
“The Defence submitted that the issue of interim release needed to be resolved urgently, to the extent that it requested that the Chamber reduce the Prosecution’s time limit to respond,” the filing noted.
“In a complete reversal, the Defence now asks the Chamber, again on an urgent basis, not to rule on its Request for Interim Release”.
While the defense argued that additional information would be “vital” to its case, the prosecution called that claim speculative. It added that the defense could file a renewed application under Article 60(3) of the Rome Statute if new facts emerge.
Both filings were submitted to ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I, composed of Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc, Judge Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou, and Judge María del Socorro Flores Liera. As of this report, the Chamber has not issued a ruling on either the suspension request or the original motion for interim release.
Separately, Duterte’s lawyers filed a request on July 15 for an “urgent” status conference to address delays they say are beyond their control. They asked that the meeting be held before the ICC’s summer recess on July 25 to assess whether the September 23 confirmation of charges hearing remains feasible. (ZIA LUNA)
