The prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has removed one alleged drug war killing from its trial brief against former president Rodrigo Duterte, following a ruling that the incident fell outside the scope of the confirmed charges.
In an amended trial brief submitted on October 16 and made public this week, acting ICC prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang confirmed the removal of Incident 57, which involved a suspected high-value drug target reportedly included in Duterte’s list.
In its October 9 ruling, Trial Chamber III said the incident fit the type and location of crimes covered by the charges but occurred outside the period covered by Count 2, which concerns alleged murders of high-value drug targets from July 2016 to July 2017.
The chamber rejected the inclusion of the incident among eight additional killings proposed by prosecutors, allowing the seven other incidents to be included in the case.
With the latest revision, the total number of incidents covered by the charges increased from 49 to 56. The prosecution, however, retained its existing lists of witnesses and evidence.
The prosecution said evidence related to Incident 57 remains relevant to establishing the contextual elements of crimes against humanity and Duterte’s individual criminal responsibility. Details of the incident and portions of the amended filing remain redacted.
Duterte is facing charges of crimes against humanity in connection with killings linked to his administration’s anti-drug campaign and his time as Davao City mayor.
His trial is scheduled to begin on November 30 in The Hague, Netherlands, with opening statements from the prosecution and the common legal representatives of victims before the presentation of prosecution witnesses.
