\n Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte personally drew up \"death lists\" and boasted about murders committed during his \"war on drugs\", an International Criminal Court prosecutor alleged Tuesday at a crimes against humanity hearing.\n<\/p>\n
\n On day two of proceedings against Duterte, ICC prosecutor Edward Jeremy laid out searing testimony including allegations that children had their heads wrapped in packing tape and were strangled to death.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"As president, Duterte publicly named persons he alleged were involved in drugs, and many of those would end up as victims in his so-called war on drugs,\" Jeremy said.\n<\/p>\n
\n The \"Duterte list\" was \"basically a death list\", Jeremy cited a witness as saying, showing a video of Duterte himself saying: \"I am the sole person responsible for it all.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Duterte faces three ICC counts of crimes against humanity, with prosecutors alleging his involvement in at least 76 murders between 2013 and 2018.\n<\/p>\n
\n Prosecutors say this is a \"mere fraction\" of the thousands believed killed in his \"war on drugs\" as mayor of Davao City and then president.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"As witnesses stated, the poor were often targeted, because they were the ones least likely to file complaints against the police,\" said Jeremy.\n<\/p>\n
\n - 'The bodies pile up' -\n<\/p>\n
\n Jeremy played a clip of Duterte joking about \"extrajudicial killings\" during a speech.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"And in this opulent, gilded, presentation room, the officials laugh along with their president while he boasts about his skills in extrajudicial killing,\" said Jeremy.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"And outside on the streets of the Philippines, the bodies pile up.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Jeremy alleged that almost 1,500 people had already been killed at the time of this video.\n<\/p>\n
\n The prosecutor said that on two occasions, children aged around 14 or 15 were taken into custody.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"On each occasion, the police wrapped the child's head in packing tape. So no one could hear them scream. And then strangled the child to death with wire,\" said Jeremy.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"It's difficult to imagine a more terrifying end to two lives that had barely even begun. And these murdered children were then sold to funeral homes.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n The week-long ICC proceedings are not a trial but a \"confirmation of charges\" hearing, enabling judges to weigh whether to move ahead with a trial.\n<\/p>\n
\n Another prosecutor, Robynne Croft, described the alleged crimes as a \"widespread and systematic attack\" on the people of the Philippines.\n<\/p>\n
\n The killings were \"highly organised, planned and coordinated\" and without Duterte's \"essential contribution\", would not have occurred, Croft alleged.\n<\/p>\n
\n Duterte, 80, is not in court after exercising his right not to appear.\n<\/p>\n
\n His defence team says he is weak and in cognitive decline. The prosecution and victims counter that he is healthy but does not want to face the loved-ones of victims.\n<\/p>\n
\n The court passed him fit to attend but granted his right to stay away.\n<\/p>\n
\n Once the hearings wrap up Friday, the court will take up to 60 days to decide whether to proceed to a full trial, usually in a written judgement.\n<\/p>\n
\n A lawyer for the victims, Paolina Massidda, said loved-ones of those killed \"have waited years for this moment.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n Addressing the three-judge panel, Massidda said: \"Today, the victims stand before you with the hope that justice long denied may finally be within reach. This court is their last refuge.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n \"For the victims, the confirmation of charges is not merely a legal step. It is a recognition that their loved ones mattered. It is an acknowledgement that what happened to them was wrong,\" she added.\n<\/p>\n
\n Duterte's defence lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, on Monday said his client \"maintained his innocence absolutely\".\n<\/p>\n
\n He argued that while Duterte used \"bluster and hyperbole\" in his speeches, he also frequently ordered authorities only to shoot in self-defence.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kaufman will address the court on Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte personally drew up \"death lists\" and boasted about murders committed during his \"war on drugs\", an International Criminal Court prosecutor alleged Tuesday at a crimes against humanity hearing. On day two of proceedings against Duterte, ICC prosecutor Edward Jeremy laid out searing testimony including allegations that children had their heads […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-155646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n