ICC removes disputed incident from Duterte trial brief after chamber order

Following a ruling by the ICC Trial Chamber, the prosecution revised its trial brief by removing every mention of Incident 57, replacing the text with “[DELETED]” to preserve cross-referencing. The amendment, signed by acting prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang, leaves the prosecution’s lists of witnesses unchanged. Duterte’s defense team had raised objections to the sheer amount of material the prosecution intended to present before the trial’s opening on November 30.

Although Incident 57 was stripped from the brief, related events that may demonstrate crimes against humanity remain in the dossier. The former president remains detained at the ICC in The Hague on charges tied to the Philippines’ drug campaign, which rights groups estimate caused between 6,000 and 30,000 deaths. The prosecution maintains that other incidents still support claims of Duterte’s criminal responsibility.