Duterte’s Camp Asks ICC for Stricter Witness Identity Verification Process
ICC – The International Criminal Court rejected the request of the camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte regarding the witness verification process.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is currently faced with allegation of crimes against humanity over his war on drugs. The former President was arrested by the Philippine authorities last March 11 and was brought to the Hague, Netherlands via Dubai on the same day that he was arrested.
Vice Pres. Sara Duterte immediately flew to the Netherlands to support her father following his arrest. He set the legal team of the former President before returning to the country.
The ICC legal team of former Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte is composed of foreign lawyers led by British-Israeli lawyer Nicholas Kaufman. Also one of the members of Duterte’s ICC legal team is French lawyer Dov Jacobs.
Previously, Duterte’s lawyer expressed his confidence on their camp’s jurisdictional argument. According to him, if he will be able to convince to judges that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the country, there might be no need to get to the confirmation of charges phase set on September 23.
Previously, lawyer Nicholas Kaufman asked the ICC to require a national ID or a passport from the alleged victims of Duterte’s drug war in verifying their identities. He wants a stricter process in the verification of the alleged victims.
Recently, the ICC released its decision. Based on a report on PhilStar, the foreign court rejected the request of Duterte’s camp to require the witnesses to present a national ID or a passport with an updated photo for the verification.
The pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court issued a 20-page order stating its approval of the proposed list of documents of the ICCRegistry. Based on the report, it also stated that the ICCRegistry has detailed each proposed document sufficiently.
“This information, together with the procedure for admission of victims to participate in the proceedings adopted above, already ensures the ‘reliability of the identity verification process and significantly reduces the risk of fraud,” the order of the chamber read.
Previously, an ICC prosecutor revealed that the prosecution team is set to present at least 8,500 pages of written evidence and 15 hours of footage against Duterte. Malacañang also previously spoke its belief that Duterte’s lawyer will be challenged in defending the alleged “admissions” of the former President.