ICC OKs freezing of Duterte funds but keeps personal keys from prosecution

MANILA, Philippines — A trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has allowed the prosecution to freeze the undisclosed amount of money seized from former President Rodrigo Duterte when he was taken into the tribunal’s custody.

But the Trial Chamber (TC) III rejected the request of the prosecution to get a hold of unspecified “keys” that were supposedly with Duterte during his trip to Hong Kong, his last overseas destination before being arrested and flown to The Hague, the Netherlands, in March last year.

This was the TC III’s ruling on the prosecution’s bid to obtain, for investigation purposes, some of Duterte’s personal effects that have been in custody with the Registry while he remains in detention.

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In two separate decisions released on Friday night, the chamber granted the request of the prosecution to access the money that Duterte came with as it could be used for the reparations should he be found guilty of his charges of crimes against humanity of murder.

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READ: Rodrigo Duterte lawyers oppose plea for his belongings

But to be able to do so, the Registry, the ICC’s administrative arm, should be able to undertake measures to avoid its devaluation.

“This is because, should the accused ultimately be convicted of the alleged crimes, that money is to be available for the purpose of eventual forfeiture and the award of reparations to victims under Article 75 of the Statute,” read part of the decision dated May 28.

The TC III also allowed the prosecution to gain access to and inspect undisclosed items retrieved from Duterte, saying it found “reasonable grounds to believe that the requested search would produce evidence that is necessary for the investigation.”

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The chamber noted that the redacted items were “likely to have been used by the accused in relation to the alleged crimes.”

However, it criticized the prosecution for making such request for the inspection of Duterte’s belongings at a later stage of the proceedings with no reason provided for doing so.

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The only request that the TC III rejected was obtaining Duterte’s keys, which the defense argued would be an intrusion to the privacy rights of the accused.

Duterte’s lawyers earlier said the keys in question were “seized while he was traveling with members of his family,” a detail which could likely refer to their Hong Kong trip, where the former leader came from before his arrest at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

“In light of these circumstances, the chamber finds that the requested access to the keys is neither necessary nor proportionate, and should therefore be rejected,” the chamber said in the June 22 ruling. /das

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