AFP, The Hague

Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, charged with crimes against humanity, will remain in custody after the International Criminal Court yesterday rejected a request from his defence team for release on medical grounds.

ICC judges ruled that Duterte posed a flight risk and could influence witnesses if freed, arguing that this outweighed any medical problems suffered by the 80-year-old.

“The Chamber finds that Mr Duterte’s detention continues to remain necessary,” the ICC said in a heavily redacted ruling dated October 10.

ICC prosecutors have charged Duterte with three counts of crimes against humanity, alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders as part of his “war on drugs”.

The first count concerns his alleged involvement as a co-perpetrator in 19 murders carried out between 2013 and 2016 while Duterte was mayor of Davao City.

The second count relates to 14 murders of so-called “High Value Targets” in 2016 and 2017 when Duterte was president.

And the third charge is about 43 murders committed during “clearance” operations of lower-level alleged drug users or pushers.