The denial by the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) of the motion made by Salvador Medialdea to defer Friday’s hearing and the passive reaction of the judges to his claims that former President Rodrigo Duterte was renditioned to The Hague indicated that the tribunal avoids politicizing the case.

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was "abducted" before being taken to The Hague to face murder allegations and is too ill to give evidence, his lawyer told International Criminal Court judges at his initial appearance on Friday.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Philippine ex-President Rodrigo Duterte landed Wednesday in the Netherlands a day after he was arrested in Manila on an International Criminal Court warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity over deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he oversaw while in office.