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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Kaufman to Duterte supporters: Respect the judicial process

Kaufman to Duterte supporters: Respect the judicial process

Published Apr 2, 2025 01:16 am

The lead counsel in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity of murder charges in the International Criminal Court (ICC) has asked his supporters to respect the judicial process and not to interfere in the independence of the Court.

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Former president Rodrigo Duterte and his British-Israeli lead counsel Nicholas Kaufman (Screengrab from ICC, ABS-CBN News video)

British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman told reporters in The Hague, Netherlands on Tuesday, April 1, that the Duterte family wished for him to convey to their supporters “that the judicial process must be respected.”

“There should be no interference of the judicial process. The politics is one issue,” he said, further asking for “full respect” for all participants—the prosecution, the defense, the counsels, and the victims—in the process.

“No one should interfere with that process. Let it run its course,” he added.

Supporters of the former president have been holding protests, rallies, and demonstrations around the world against his detention in The Hague, with 16 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) now detained in Qatar for holding illegal demonstrations there last week.

On social media, Duterte’s supporters have been harassing the ICC judges’ personal and professional pages, and have also been messaging American author Nicholas Kaufmann after they mistook him for the former president’s lead counsel.

“So, l ask everybody to bear that in mind, all the supporters who have demonstrated this huge expression of love, they should also bear that in mind as well,” Kaufman furthered.

Interim release

Meanwhile, the lawyer also revealed plans to apply for an interim release for the former president, though he did not mention when the application will be filed.

Kaufman explained the three factors for an interim release to be granted by the ICC judges.

“The first of which is the risk of flight, the second of which is the risk of interference of witnesses with the evidence and the third of which is the risk of continuing crimes. None of those factors exist in the present situation,” he said.

He also plans to question the ICC’s jurisdiction in the Philippines, seeing as the country was no longer a member as of March 2019.

“There is a compelling argument that the court cannot exercise its jurisdiction over the Philippines’ situation. It is a live issue. It’s an issue which has been through the Philippines’ courts. It’s an issue that’s been through the ICC as well. It is a compelling argument,” he added.

Both the Supreme Court and the ICC are in agreement that the international court has jurisdiction over the crimes committed in the Philippines until the withdrawal from membership became effective in March 2019.

Kaufman also acknowledged the “role” of the victims in the judicial process, and asked for that role to be respected.

“Whether or not we agree with what the evidence coming out of the victims is, is a totally different matter, but we will argue that in court not here,” he stressed.

Vice President Sara Duterte, who had been staying in The Hague since her father’s deportation there, earlier questioned the 181 pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution and the 43 murder charges compared to some 30,000 alleged extrajudicial killings that happened under her father’s so-called drug war.

She also called ICC prosecutor Karim Khan “bobo (stupid).”

The former president will face the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I on Sept. 23 for the confirmation of charges. He first appeared virtually on March 14 to formally hear the charges against him and be informed of his rights under the Rome Statute.

He was arrested in the morning of March 11 after arriving from Hong Kong at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 and transferred to the nearby Villamor Airbase before being flown to The Hague in the evening of the same day.

Duterte is facing 43 counts of murder for the alleged state-sanctioned and systematic killing of mostly impoverished suspected drug addicts during his administration’s war on drugs campaign.

Related Tags

International Criminal Court crimes against humanity Nicholas Kaufman Rodrigo Duterte
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