DAVAO CITY, Philippines – After all the rallies held in cities and across the world, including the huge 80th birthday rally in his bailiwick, the Duterte family appeals to their supporters to respect the process in the International Criminal Court (ICC) as former President Rodrigo Duterte stands trial.
Duterte’s lawyer to the ICC, British-Israeli attorney Nicholas Kaufman, told reporters in The Hague, Netherlands on Tuesday, April 1, that Duterte’s family asked him to tell 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, asking Duterte supporters to respect all participants in the ICC trial including the prosecution, the victims and the judges.
“No one should interfere with that process. Let it run its course,” he added.
Ever since Duterte’s arrest and first appearance in the ICC, where he is accused of crimes against humanity for leading his war on drugs that killed thousands, his supporters have held rallies and online campaigns protesting his arrest.
But recent online activities bordered on harassment, including bullying of the victims’ families.
Even the ICC Judge Iulia Motoc was subject to online harassment by supporters who swarmed her LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. There was also disinformation online that wrongly identified that foreigners in a photo with First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos were the ICC judges.
These incidents might backfire for Duterte supporters who are praying for his interim release which is being prepared by Kaufman.
Lawyer Joel Butuyan, an ICC-accredited lawyer, explained in a forum in March that the online and physical activities of Duterte supporters “will make the judges see how powerful the Duterte forces are, as they can bully, harass, and attempt to manipulate the ICC.”
Kaufman said he will push for Duterte’s interim release as he sees Duterte poses no risks in the criteria of the ICC, such as interfering with witnesses and evidence, and the ability to continue the accused crimes. “None of those factors exist in the present situation,” he said.
The ICC prosecution presented 181 pieces of evidence to the judges and defense on March 24. The ICC will look into 43 murder cases charged against the former president.
Kaufman told supporters that they should respect the process of the prosecution and the victims. “The victims have a role in the process. We have to respect that role. We will argue that in court, not here,” he said.
But Vice President Sara Duterte, who has been staying with her father to help in preparing his legal team, commented why the prosecution is just looking at 43 cases and 181 pieces of evidence in contrast to the 30,000 reported murders linked to Duterte’s war on drugs.
The ICC has set the pre-trial against Duterte on September 23 to confirm the charges. (davaotoday.com)
ICC, rodrigo duterte
