THE HAGUE, March 14. /TASS/. Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appeared before judges at the International Criminal Court via video link, according to a TASS reporter at the courtroom.

Duterte is represented by lawyer Salvador Medialdea, who is present at the courtroom.

In opening the hearing, Presiding Judge Iulia Motoc stated that the former president is "attending the proceedings via video link."

"As Mr. Duterte made a long journey <...> the chamber authorized Mr. Duterte to follow the hearing at a distance," she said.

The former president, who is suspected of crimes against humanity, arrived in the Netherlands on March 12. The court argues that it has reasonable grounds to believe that Duterte, who was in power from 2016 to 2022, is responsible for, and is indirectly complicit in a number of murders committed in the Philippines between November 1, 2011, and March 16, 2019, during the so-called war on drugs.