Arya News - In a text message to reporters, Caroline Maurel, outreach officer from the Public Information and Outreach Section at the ICC, said that if a suspect were released from the chamber’s custody, the court would immediately and officially confirm it to the press.
MANILA – Former President Rodrigo Duterte remains in detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC), a court official confirmed Thursday, amid unverified reports of his release.
In a text message to reporters, Caroline Maurel, outreach officer from the Public Information and Outreach Section at the ICC, said that if a suspect were released from the chamber’s custody, the court would immediately and officially confirm it to the press.
“I can confirm that there is no change in the status of Mr. Duterte. He is still in the ICC detention center,” Maurel said, quoting ICC spokesperson Fadi El-Abdallah.
READ: Duterte’s lawyers seek delay in ICC ruling on interim release request
This came after the former president’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, refused to comment on reports claiming that her father had been released from the ICC detention center.
The vice president, who was in The Hague, Netherlands at the time, said she knew the answer to the reports but chose not to comment as she was not sure if doing so was “allowed on [her] level.”
Earlier, ICC Pre Trial Chamber I granted the former president’s request to defer the decision on his appeal for interim release.
READ: ICC prosecutor asks court to deny Duterte bid to delay ruling
In a filing made public on Wednesday evening, Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc said the deferment was granted by a majority of judges, either until the defense takes further action on the matter or until the chamber deems it appropriate.
Despite this, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I maintained that the present decision shall not be interpreted as “prejudging” any matter to be determined in the context of the proceedings related to Duterte’s appeal.
On June 12, Duterte’s counsel appealed for the former president’s urgent interim release, saying an undisclosed government had expressed “advance and principled agreement” to receive him.
The ICC currently has custody of Duterte after he was arrested and sent to The Hague for crimes against humanity he allegedly committed during his administration’s bloody war against drugs.
The anti-drug campaign dubbed “Oplan Tokhang” left at least 6,000 people dead, although human rights groups estimate the death toll to be as high as 20,000.