The camp of drug war victims on Saturday insisted that former President Rodrigo Duterte must remain in detention, arguing that the defense’s bid for temporary release from the International Criminal Court (ICC) is intended only to further delay the long-stalled trial.

Lawyer Kristina Conti, an ICC assistant to counsel, said keeping Duterte in the tribunal’s custody in The Hague, Netherlands, is necessary to ensure the hearing of his crimes against humanity case proceeds without further delays.

“[He should] stay in court, he should stay in the ICC’s custody. In other words, detained. Because that will give us the assurance that the hearing will proceed without any problems,” Conti said in Filipino in an interview.

“Because if he leaves, it will take much longer. Whereas, if he stays inside […] the trial can start much sooner,” she added, noting that a prompt hearing would be a significant development long awaited by families of alleged extrajudicial killings.

Conti further said releasing Duterte from detention is a “huge risk” to the ICC, which lacks a police force to enforce its orders if the pre-trial accused fails to appear in court.

The ICC will announce its decision on Duterte’s petition for interim release on Friday, 28 November at 10:30 a.m. Central European time in open court. The proceedings will also be livestreamed on the ICC’s official website.

Duterte’s lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, has repeatedly petitioned the court to temporarily release the former leader pending confirmation of his murder charges, beginning 12 June. Kaufman assured the court that an unnamed country has agreed to host Duterte and will comply with any conditions set by the tribunal.

Currently, 125 states are parties to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty, including 19 from Asia-Pacific. Only Argentina and Belgium have signed cooperation agreements on interim release with the ICC.

ICC prosecutors and the legal team representing drug war victims have opposed the defense’s petition, calling it a veiled attempt to delay the pre-trial, which has already been postponed following Kaufman’s filing citing Duterte’s advanced age and health condition.

In October, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejected the defense’s previous bid, ruling Duterte remains a flight risk and poses a threat to potential witnesses. Contributing factors include the Duterte camp’s continued non-recognition of ICC jurisdiction and statements by his children, including Vice President Sara Duterte, claiming he was “kidnapped” by the court.

Aside from the interim release bid, the defense has also sought to pause all legal proceedings, including the confirmation of charges hearing originally scheduled for 23 September, citing Duterte’s cognitive deficiencies and alleged inability to participate in his own defense.

Duterte, 80, has been detained at Scheveningen Prison since his arrest on 11 March in Manila. He faces three counts of murder for crimes against humanity linked to summary killings carried out by police during his anti-narcotics campaign, which left thousands dead, mostly from poor communities.