Duterte suffers 'significant memory impairment', defence tells ICC

Hague: Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte is struggling with memory loss that causes him to forget the name of his lawyer, according to his defense team preparing his case at the International Criminal Court. The 81-year-old faces charges of crimes against humanity at the ICC, stemming from his so-called "war on drugs," which resulted in thousands of deaths.

His trial is set to begin on November 30, but judges are evaluating his mental fitness to participate in the trial, ordering a medical assessment by three experts. However, the assessment has not been made public yet. In a 13-page defense submission, lawyer Peter Haynes stated that Duterte suffers from significant memory impairment, which hinders his ability to retain recent information and recall memories.

Consequently, he struggles to engage with the case and give proper instructions to his lead counsel, whose name he sometimes forgets. Haynes expressed frustration over being compelled to handle the case without meaningful input from his client. The prosecution, in its own heavily redacted seven-page submission, maintained that Duterte is capable of meaningfully exercising his procedural and fair trial rights and is fit for trial.

However, the defense disputed the panel of doctors, calling their report "incomplete and inadequate," and demanded they be cross-examined. The experts concluded that Duterte may not have been fully focused during testing, making the results challenging to interpret. Although they couldn't determine whether the results resulted from malingering or a genuine neurological condition, the defense cited results showing Duterte believing he lived in 2007 or 2008, thinking he was 84 or 85 years old, and failing to recall the name of the current US president.

These memory lapses, according to Haynes, prevent his lawyers from preparing an effective defense, as they cannot rely on the information provided by their client. Such mental impairment would also affect any potential defense in court, Haynes argued. Since his arrest and transfer to The Hague, Duterte has appeared only once during an initial video conference, where he seemed dazed and confused, mumbling to confirm his name and occasionally dozing off.

His defense team has since requested him to be absent due to health grounds at subsequent hearings. Presiding judge Joanna Korner has urged Duterte to make an appearance at a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday. However, no defense application for an exemption has been made public, meaning Duterte might have to appear in person at the ICC, becoming the first former Asian head of state to do so if that occurs.

Duterte faces three counts of crimes against humanity, with prosecutors alleging involvement in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018 during his anti-drug campaign.