Arya News - The latest ruling on the health of Duterte cleared the path for him to fully participate and attend in person his trial for crimes against humanity, which is set to begin on Nov. 30.
MANILA – The judges of a trial chamber at the International Criminal Court have found that former President Rodrigo Duterte would be able to stand trial effectively after his overall health appeared to have improved since his arrest.
The latest ruling on the health of Duterte cleared the path for him to fully participate and attend in person his trial for crimes against humanity, which is set to begin on Nov. 30.
Trial Chamber (TC) III said in its 17–page decision on Sept. 28, but released on Thursday night, that a three-member panel of experts that examined Duterte’s health found “no evidence of worsening mental state or cognitive abilities,” but with some inconsistencies.
It also added that there was no basis for Duterte remaining “physically frail” or in need of medical and nursing care for a condition that was withheld by the court.
“With respect to the accused’s general health condition, the expert panel reports that his ‘general physical health appears to have been optimised,’” the TC III said, citing the medical findings.
This, it noted, could be attributed to the “high standard of medical and nursing care, including diagnostic rigor and pharmacological rationalization.”
The chamber in June appointed the medical specialists to conduct another round of medical assessment at the trial stage. The same panel of experts also looked into the condition of Duterte during pretrial.
Since his arrest in February last year, Duterte has been under continued observation and medical care by the ICC while in detention in The Hague.