Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest has been deemed “pure and simple kidnapping” by his legal counsel, Salvador Medialdea. This statement was made during Duterte’s first appearance before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday.
Duterte’s legal team claims that his arrest and extradition from Manila to the Netherlands were unlawful. Medialdea also argued that Duterte was too ill to contribute to the hearing.
Presiding Judge Iulia Antoanella Motoc led the ICC pretrial hearing, which marked the beginning of Duterte’s trial for alleged crimes against humanity related to his “war on drugs”.
