Former President Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team is preparing to file a request for his interim release, though the exact timing for the application before the International Criminal Court (ICC) has yet to be determined.
After his recent visit to Duterte at the Scheveningen Prison, lawyer Nicholas Kaufman yesterday briefed reporters on the three key factors that could justify an interim release, which he described as a “right” of the former president.
“Interim release [can] only be tempered by three factors. 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,” Kaufman said.
“There is a right for Mr. Duterte to be released. We are working on that, but the timing of when we intend to introduce such an application is yet to be decided,” the British-Israeli lawyer added.
Kaufman declined to address previous statements from the Duterte camp regarding the 181 pieces of initial evidence submitted by the prosecution.
He also refrained from commenting on whether these pieces are sufficient to prove crimes against humanity or if identifying the 30,000 alleged victims of Duterte’s drug war is necessary.
“The victims have a role in the process. We have to respect that role and we hope that everyone will respect that role. Whether or not we agree with the evidence coming out of the victims is a totally different matter, but we will argue that in court, not here,” he said.
Recently, Vice President Sara Duterte questioned the 30,000 drug war deaths figure, arguing that the evidence presented to ICC is insufficient to prove such widespread extrajudicial killings (EJKs).
She pointed out that the prosecution only presented 181 pieces of evidence and failed to provide names for even 50 victims, challenging the claim of a systematic killing spree.
However, lawyer Gilbert Andres, executive director of the Center for International Law Philippines, explained that it is not necessary for the prosecution to name 30,000 victims, “but only an example out of the 30,000.”
“What the ICC is doing is to show emblematic examples of the killings. What is important is to show that there was a [state] policy [authorizing EJKs]… and a Davao Death Squad when Duterte was president,” he said in Filipino.
“They [prosecution] need to show that there were killings, and that these killings were not random. That there was a widespread or systematic attack on the civilian population,” he added.
ICC Assistant to Counsel Kristina Conti of the National Union of People’s Lawyers echoed this view, saying that proving a case of crimes against humanity does not require identifying every victim.
For his part, ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah emphasized that even one case could establish such crimes.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Duterte legal team working on interim release request—Kaufman.”