From leader to detainee at The Hague: What’s next for former Philippine president Duterte?

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A prison bus parks next to an aircraft carrying former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte after its arrival at Rotterdam The Hague Airport. — Reuters pic

THE HAGUE, March 14 — Philippine ex-President Duterte, who faces murder charges at the International Criminal Court over his war on drugs, will be taken to a coastal detention unit near The Hague where several infamous war crimes suspects were held.

The Scheveningen prison facility, built in 1882, is where some former leaders prosecuted by international courts or UN tribunals spent years during legal proceedings.

Upon arrival Duterte would generally receive a medical examination and then be taken to a private cell with a sink, toilet, bed, desk and bookshelves.

Duterte will join Kosovo’s former president Hashim Thaçi, who is awaiting his war crimes trial, and convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic, who was found guilty of genocide in Bosnia. Other inmates include militia leaders from Sudan, Mali and the Central African Republic.

Cooking, yoga and crafts

Because it’s technically a detention unit and not a prison, detainees have access to more facilities than they would after a possible conviction. Among privileges are conjugal visits, an outdoor exercise space, unmonitored communications with legal team and visits by a minister or spiritual advisor.

During trials in the aftermath of the bloody Balkan wars of the 1990s, for which more than 160 suspects were prosecuted, inmates were known to hold sports matches. The detainees for the UN and Kosovo tribunals are in separate wings but share some facilities with the ICC detainees.

Inside there are basic medical facilities and an onsite nurse, but defence lawyers for some suspects have raised concerns that it is difficult to get care after hours.

Suspects have access to a gym, a library and a kitchen where they can prepare their own meals, as a dislike for Dutch cuisine is shared by most detainees, lawyers said.

Inmates can also take yoga and music classes, some get materials for crafts and painting and have access to a computer for legal research. They can receive treatment under the Dutch medical system and have the right to a second opinion by a doctor of their choosing.

A general view of the Scheveningen prison facility, which was built in 1882. — Reuters pic

Initial appearance

The ICC’s warrant for Duterte says that as president he created, funded and armed “death squads” as part of the war on drugs. Prosecutors have accused him of crimes against humanity and pre-trial judges say there are reasonable grounds to prosecute Duterte based on the evidence before them.

In coming days, Duterte will be brought before a judge for an initial appearance, during which the allegations will be detailed in court. Represented by a court-appointed defence council or a lawyer of his picking, he will not be asked to enter a plea.

Among the most well-known former defendants are the late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who died in 2006 during his genocide trial, and former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo, who was acquitted in 2019 of responsibility for post-election violence in 2010. Liberia’s Charles Taylor is serving a 50-year sentence in Britain after being convicted by a special tribunal. — Reuters