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A protester holds a life-size cartboard cutouts of former Philippines' president Rodrigo Duterte during a demonstration in his support outside the International Criminal Court (ICC) where he will be questioned on charges of crimes against humanity, in The Hague on February 23, 2026.
AFP / Simon Wohlfahrt
MANILA, Philippines — The International Criminal Court's Appeals Chamber has rejected the appeal of former president Rodrigo Duterte seeking his interim release, affirming an earlier decision ordering his continued detention.
ICC spokesperson Oriane Maillet said the appellate judges unanimously upheld the January 26 ruling of Pre-Trial Chamber I to keep Duterte at the ICC detention center in the Netherlands.
"The Appeals judges unanimously confirm the decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I, which had remanded Mr. Duterte in detention," Maillet said Friday, March 6.
"The Appeals Chamber rejected or dismissed all of the Defense's arguments and rejected the Defense's ground of appeal in its entirety."
Health report disputed
Duterte's defense team argued that the pre-trial chamber erred when it disregarded a medical report concerning his health condition.
The defense said the chamber "erred in fact and in law, and abused its discretion" when it set aside the report because it was submitted by a party to the proceedings.
The lawyers argued that the report constituted a new fact about Duterte's health that should have been considered in reviewing his detention.
But the Appeals Chamber said the defense report did not present new medical information because the doctors involved did not conduct a fresh examination of Duterte.
The ruling noted that the report relied on existing medical assessments and acknowledged that "no independent clinical re-examination was conducted."
Legal determination
The court also said assessing whether Duterte's health affects detention risks is a legal determination for the judges.
The Appeals Chamber said the evaluation of risk factors, including the impact of Duterte's health condition, "is a legal determination to be made by the Pre-Trial Chamber" and does not require assistance from medical practitioners.
It added that the panel of court-appointed medical experts already provided the most current information about Duterte's health condition during the review of his detention.
The Appeals Chamber therefore found no error in the earlier decision to continue holding Duterte while proceedings before the court continue.
