FACT CHECK: Russia not planning to jail ICC judges over Duterte’s case

Claim: Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia will abduct and jail the International Criminal Court (ICC) judges who are handling the case of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: A Facebook post bearing the claim was posted on January 5 and has garnered over 1,400 reactions, 200 comments, and 100 shares as of writing. The content has also been shared in various Facebook groups with memberships ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands.

The text in the post reads: “Sila naman ang ikukulong ni Russian President Vladimir Putin.” 

(Now it’s their turn to be imprisoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.)

The post includes photos of Putin, Duterte, US President Donald Trump, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Iulia Motoc, presiding judge of the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I handling Duterte’s case. Text overlaid on the photos reads: “Lumusob na sa ICC. Dudukutin at ipapakulong mga ICC judges? Russia nagdeklara na sa ICC.”

(The ICC has been stormed. ICC judges to be abducted and jailed? Russia has made a declaration against the ICC.)

Most of the comments on the post thanked Putin for the supposed move to imprison the ICC judges and secure Duterte’s release.

The Facebook page “GAP Entertainment,” which posted the claim, has over 163,000 followers and 1,500 posts that are predominantly pro-Duterte and anti-Marcos.

The facts:  There are no official statements from Putin or the Russian government about a supposed plan to detain and arrest Motoc or the other ICC judges due to Duterte’s case at the court.

The post likely referred to the “in absentia” jail verdict promulgated by a court in Moscow against ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan and eight judges in December 2025. This was a response to the ICC’s issuance of an arrest warrant for Putin and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, in March 2023 over alleged war crimes related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This “in absentia” ruling is not related to Duterte’s case, contrary to the claim. Russia is also not an ICC member state, having withdrawn from the Rome Statute — the treaty that created the ICC — in 2016.

Philippine-Russia relations: During his term as president, Duterte has had a friendly diplomatic relationship with Putin, but the Russian leader has never expressed a commitment to intervene in Duterte’s case or help secure his release.

Duterte was arrested in March 2025 over crimes against humanity charges linked to his administration’s war on drugs. (READ: Duterte’s arrest was ‘by the book,’ within ICC’s liberal rules — experts)

In 2017, Russia expressed its support for the Duterte administration’s drug war and promised to extend assistance in boosting the country’s anti-terrorism efforts. Russia declared its own “total war against drugs” in 2011.

Debunked: Rappler has previously debunked several false claims regarding Putin and Russia’s alleged support for Duterte’s release from the ICC: 

• FACT CHECK: No statement from Putin backing calls for Mindanao secession
• FACT CHECK: No reports of Russia, US, UK seeking Duterte release
• FACT CHECK: Video of ‘Putin capture’ is just game simulation
• FACT CHECK: Mainstream media reported on US, Russia sanctions on ICC judges
• FACT CHECK: ICC judge Iulia Motoc is alive

– Reinnard Balonzo/Rappler.com 

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