Former President Rodrigo Duterte will stand trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) after its judges confirmed the charges of crimes against humanity in connection with his anti-drug war.

In a statement on Thursday, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I said it “unanimously confirmed all the charges… against Rodrigo Roa Duterte and committed him to trial.”

The chamber found “substantial grounds to believe that Duterte is responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder and attempted murder,” covering incidents from November 2011 to March 2019 that allegedly resulted in thousands of deaths.

Duterte faces three counts of crimes against humanity for murder, tied to 49 killing incidents involving 78 victims. He may be held criminally liable as an indirect co-perpetrator, or for ordering, inducing, aiding, or abetting the crimes.

The former president becomes the first Asian former head of state to face trial before the ICC, which prosecutes individuals for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Duterte’s lead defense counsel, British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman, rejected the court’s findings, saying the prosecution’s case relies on “uncorroborated statements” from cooperating witnesses.

‘Complete fiction’

Kaufman disputed the chamber’s interpretation of the word “neutralize,” which was used in the orders of Duterte to policemen.

“The Pre-Trial Chamber found that the crucial word ‘neutralize’ was understood by those involved in the operations to mean to ‘kill,’” Kaufman said.

He said this conclusion was based largely on testimony from cooperating witnesses whom he described as “vicious self-confessed murderers,” whose credibility has yet to be tested in full trial proceedings.

“At trial, the defense will prove that the aforementioned ‘state policy’ is a complete fiction,” Kaufman said. “The defense will also show that the evidence of these criminal witnesses has zero weight.”