ICC Judges Rule Duterte Fit to Stand Trial Over Drug-War Killings

Judges at the International Criminal Court have found former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, 81, fit to stand trial on crimes-against-humanity charges linked to his “war on drugs,” Al Jazeera reports.

Duterte’s lawyers had argued that severe memory loss left him unable to follow the case, but the chamber accepted independent medical experts’ findings that he can understand the evidence and work with his defence team. The judges also rejected his request to be released from custody in The Hague.

Duterte denies the murder and attempted-murder charges, and his trial is scheduled to open on November 30. Estimates of the death toll from his 2016–2022 crackdown range from more than 6,000, according to Philippine police, to as many as 30,000, according to human rights groups.

Read the original story at Al Jazeera.