Former President Rodrigo Duterte is likely to spend Christmas alone, as the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) detention center—where he is currently held for alleged crimes against humanity—will be on official holiday from 25 to 26 December, making visitation possibly unavailable.

According to the ICC’s website, the court will be in judicial recess from 12 December to 5 January. During this period, court proceedings will be temporarily suspended.

The calendar also marks 25 and 26 December as official holidays, which may result in restricted visitation schedules.

Duterte’s lead legal counsel, Nicholas Kaufman, said their camp is seeking the court’s permission to allow the former president to spend Christmas with his family, although approval is not guaranteed.

“On the actual Christmas Day itself, Boxing Day—these are official court holidays—so no visits, unfortunately, are allowed at all. However, we are going to try and change that because we believe that the former president should be with his family on Christmas, and we will fight for that,” Kaufman said, based on a report by GMA News.

“What the court decides, obviously, is a different matter. We will do our best to make sure that happens. But unfortunately, I can’t be too optimistic. Still, we will do our best,” the lawyer added.

ICC detainees are generally entitled to receive visits and to practice their religion or belief. However, regular visitation remains uncertain during official holidays.

Last week, the ICC Appeals Chamber unanimously denied the defense’s request to grant Duterte a temporary release from detention pending confirmation of charges, which was paused indefinitely following a petition by Duterte’s camp.

Kaufman has repeatedly assured the ICC that the grounds under Article 58(1)(b) of the Rome Statute—which outline the need for continued detention of an accused, including flight risk, likelihood of reoffending, or obstruction of the investigation—were not sufficiently met.

However, the Appeals Chamber concurred with the September decision of Pre-Trial Chamber I, which declared that Duterte’s detention “continues to remain necessary” to ensure his appearance at trial and to prevent obstruction or endangerment of the ongoing investigation into his war on drugs.

According to ICC assistant to counsel Kristina Conti, one of the lawyers representing families of victims of Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign, the Appeals Chamber’s ruling is final and can no longer be appealed, as it is the court’s last avenue for appeal.

This leaves the defense with no choice but to reintroduce a new set of compelling grounds—such as a possible further deterioration of Duterte’s reportedly frail condition—to justify another bid for release, Conti explained.

Duterte, who has been detained at the ICC since his arrest on 11 March in Manila, is facing three counts of murder as crimes against humanity over the summary killings committed by police during his anti-drug campaign, which left thousands dead, mostly from poor communities.

Earlier, Kaufman said the defense would refile its petition to release the 80-year-old former president from ICC custody once the results of a medical evaluation are released this week.

Conti, however, expressed doubt that the court would grant such a request.

The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I has formed a panel of doctors to assess whether Duterte remains fit to stand trial. Their report is expected to be released by 5 December.

Apart from the interim release bid, the defense also has a pending petition urging the ICC to determine Duterte’s fitness to stand trial as another possible route to secure his release.

Duterte is reportedly suffering from cognitive deficiencies, which, according to his lawyers, render him incapable of effectively participating in his own defense.

As a result, Kaufman has insisted that Duterte is “unfit” to stand trial and has argued that all court proceedings should be indefinitely paused, including the confirmation of charges hearing, which may be rescheduled for February, according to Conti.