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DUTERTE TO REMAIN IN DETENTION #BREAKING: The ICC Trial Chamber III has decided that former president Rodrigo Duterte should remain in detention. In an eight-page decision dated May 22, the trial judges said there is a real and substantial risk that Duterte “could abscond or obstruct justice either on his own or through his associates.” “The Chamber finds that the Accused’s physical condition and cognitive capacities referred to by the Defence do not constitute factors which outweigh the risks outlined above,” the ruling read. Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s former defense counsel, earlier said that the former president’s supposed deteriorating condition constitutes a change of circumstance that could warrant his release from detention. But the trial judges noted the previous examination conducted by court-appointed medical experts, “whose reports… do not contain any information that warrants modifying the Accused’s detention.” “The Chamber further observes that the Defence’s and the Registry’s Observations do not present information that constitute new facts or a change in circumstances in comparison to the information provided in the Panel’s Reports,” the ruling added. The trial judges also cited Duterte’s refusal to attend his confirmation hearings, saying his statement that he does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction “demonstrates at its lowest that the [he] will not comply with any orders that might be made in respect of a release from custody.” | @jvrmateo