Ex-President surf£rs Severe Memory L0ss, Sometimes Forgets Lawyer’s Name – Defence Tells ICC
Ex-President surfers Severe Memory Loss, Sometimes Forgets Lawyer’s Name – Defence Tells ICC
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is experiencing severe memory loss and at times forgets the name of his own lawyer, according to his defence team at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The 81-year-old Duterte is facing crimes against humanity charges at the ICC over his controversial “war on drugs”, in which prosecutors say thousands of people were killed.
His trial is scheduled to begin on November 30, but judges are considering whether he is mentally fit to stand trial and have ordered a medical assessment by three experts.
The assessment has not been made public. However, Duterte’s defence team and the ICC prosecutor responded to its findings in documents dated September 14 and published on the court’s website on Tuesday.
Duterte “suffers from significant memory impairment that prevents him from retaining recent information and reliably accessing memories”, according to the 13-page defence submission.
This makes it impossible for him to engage with the case “let alone give proper instructions to his Lead Counsel, whose name he only sometimes remembers”, said his chief defence lawyer, Peter Haynes.
Haynes said he was being forced to prepare the case without meaningful input from his client.
The prosecution, in its own heavily redacted seven-page submission, concluded Duterte was “capable of meaningfully exercising his procedural and fair trial rights, and that he is fit for trial”.
Under ICC rules, proceedings cannot continue if an accused is unable to understand the charges or participate meaningfully in his or her defence.
– ‘Incomplete and inadequate’ –
The defence also took aim at the panel of doctors, saying their report was “incomplete and inadequate” and calling for them to be cross-examined.
According to the defence submission, the experts concluded Duterte “may not have been fully applying himself” during testing, making the results difficult to interpret.
However, the experts were unable to determine whether Duterte’s results stemmed from “malingering or a lack of motivation” or “a genuine inability to… complete the tests as a consequence of an underlying neurological condition”, said the defence.
The defence cited some results from the examinations which they said showed Duterte thinks he is living in 2007 or 2008, that he is 84 or 85 years old, and could not recall the name of the current US president.
Haynes said in his submission that these lapses in memory make it impossible for his lawyers to prepare his defence, as they cannot rely even on what he tells them.
Such mental impairment would also affect any potential defence in the courtroom, the defence lawyer said.
“Where he cannot remember when he was last elected in the Philippines, for example, any finding that Mr Duterte could give accurate testimony in his own defence would accordingly be unreasonable,” he said.
Since his arrest and transfer to The Hague, where the court is based, Duterte has been seen only once at an initial appearance via a video link.
He appeared dazed and confused, mumbling to confirm his name and seeming to doze off during proceedings.
His defence team has since applied for him to be absent on health grounds at subsequent hearings.
Presiding judge Joanna Korner has urged him to make an appearance at a pre-trial hearing on Wednesday and no defence application for an exemption has been made public.
This means Duterte could appear in person at the ICC. He would be the first former Asian head of state to do so if that happens.
Duterte faces three counts of crimes against humanity, with prosecutors alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018 during his crackdown on drug users and sellers.
The former president’s understanding of the charges against him is “at best, rudimentary,” said Haynes.
AFP
