Alleged victims of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs have opposed a request by his defense team seeking information on several participants who may be called as prosecution witnesses in proceedings before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.
The opposition was detailed in an eight-page public redacted document dated December 19, released by the ICC and titled “Victims’ Response to the ‘Defence request with respect to Group A participants’.”
The document was signed by Paolina Massidda, principal counsel of the Office of Public Counsel for Victims, who represents the alleged victims in the Duterte case.
Massidda warned that granting the defense request could endanger the victims.
“In other words, the information the Defence seeks would potentially lead to full disclosure of the identifying information of the victims belonging to Group A. Thus, granting the relief sought by the Defence will risk the security and well-being of the victims in violation of rule 89(1) of the Rules and article 68(1) of the Statute,” the document stated.
Group A refers to one of three groups of victims who applied to participate in the case.
In a request dated September 2, lead defense counsel Nicholas Kaufman asked Pre-Trial Chamber I to indicate whether any Group A victim applicants were connected to individuals cited in an Article 15 communication submitted by former ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, who has since been dismissed from the Duterte case. Kaufman referred to a section titled “Individual Incidents.”
Kaufman argued that the communication was filed on behalf of “more than 100 victims” and claimed the prosecution’s investigation was “contaminated” due to Khan’s alleged conflicting obligations, including his prior legal representation of individuals identified as alleged victims of Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.