Atty. Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s Lawyer, Speaks on Former President’s Medical Report
Duterte’s lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, confirmed that they have received the former President’s medical report by the panel of experts accredited by the International Criminal Court (ICC) but it is still “confidential”.
Former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte remains detained under the custody of the ICC since March. He is faced with three (3) counts of murder as alleged “crimes against humanity” filed by the ICC prosecutors. The ICC has recently rejected the appeal of Duterte for an interim release with a unanimous decision from all judges.
The ICC stated in its ruling that the former President is a ‘high risk’ individual. He did not personally attended the hearing of the foreign court after signing a waiver of his right to personally attend the hearing.
Duterte’s lawyer, Nicholas Kaufman, represented the former President at the ICC hearing of his interim release. Countless Duterte supporters were saddened by the decision of the high court.
In its decision, the ICC junked all the three (3) grounds raised by Duterte’s camp in its interim release plea. They are as follows:
- The Pre-Trial Chamber erroneously found that Duterte poses a risk under Article 58(1)(b) of the Rome Statute
- The Pre-Trial Chamber erred in its rejection of the guarantees proposed by the State willing to receive him
- The Pre-Trial Chamber erred in law by failing to take into account humanitarian considerations in assessing the right to interim release.
The camp of former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte claimed that they might request for his ICC interim release again. Then, they just await for the medical report of the former Chief Executive to be released by the accredited panel of experts of the foreign court.
Based on a report on GMA News, Duterte’s lawyer Nicholas Kaufman confirmed that they have released the medical report of the panel of health experts accredited by the ICC. However, according to the British-Israeli Lawyer, they cannot reveal the content of the report as of now.
“The reports have been received, but their content is confidential at present,” Duterte’s Lawyer said.
According to Nicholas Kaufman, the ICC medical report was issued “only to the Defence and to the Court”. Based on the report, the source has asked the foreign court when the ICC medical report will be made public. None of the family members of the former President has spoken on the recent developments.
Previously, the Duterte family immediately released a statement following the ICC junking the interim release plea of the former President. In their statement, the family stated that they accept the foreign court’s decision “with peaceful hearts”.
“We will continue to work with the defense team on the case and will keep supporting Former President Rodrigo Duterte with our daily conversations. We thank everyone who prayed with us today,” the Duterte family said.