Nicholas Kaufman, chief legal counsel of former President Rodrigo Duterte, requested the Marcos administration to allow Duterte’s return to the Philippines should the International Criminal Court (ICC) grant his interim release.
“The Defense sincerely hopes that the current administration, which sought fit to outsource its obligation to afford the former President a fair trial in the country of his birth, will now let him return home to face whatever judicial process is necessary, if at all, with dignity,” Kaufman said in a statement.
This follows the decision of the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I to postpone the confirmation of charges hearing for Duterte’s case initially scheduled on September 23.
The lawyer said that despite his client remaining in good spirits, “his (Duterte’s) age and the conditions of detention have taken their toll on him.”
He further alleged that his client had a “progressively deteriorating medical situation which has affected his ability to assimilate the evidence and to give his lawyers proper instructions.”
“Out of respect for the former President’s legacy, the Defense would not raise such a plea were it not supported by leading medical experts, including one not selected by the Defense,” Kaufman said.
“All litigants – Prosecution, Defense, and the Office of the Public Counsel for Victims agree that the matter requires judicial determination, and for anyone to suggest otherwise would be a malicious insult to all those involved and affected,” he added.
