Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s lead counsel, Peter Haynes, asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider scheduling hearings in blocks with breaks in between to allow the accused to receive visits from his family.
During the fourth status conference on Tuesday, Haynes stressed the importance of family visits to Duterte’s mental well-being and urged the court to announce hearing breaks in advance so his relatives could arrange their trips to The Hague, Netherlands.
“You know from the medical evidence you’ve received how important family visits are to his mental well-being,” Haynes said.
He noted that traveling to The Hague from Davao takes approximately 30 hours, making advanced planning necessary for Duterte’s family members, who also have professional and personal commitments.
“The journey time to Davao is 30 hours. And his family, as you know, are senior politicians, congressmen, mayors, and law students, and they arrange their visits to him a long time in advance to fit their busy professional and family schedules,” Haynes said.
The defense’s request comes as the ICC prepares for Duterte’s trial on charges of crimes against humanity, which is scheduled to begin on November 30. The court has yet to be specified as having granted the requested arrangement.
