Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s legal team is pushing for the disqualification of International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan, citing what they describe as a “grievous” and “irreconcilable conflict of interest.”
In a 14-page request released Thursday night, Aug. 7, Duterte’s defense lawyer Nicholas Kaufman alleged that Khan had represented victims of the so-called “war on drugs” in an undisclosed case before assuming his role as ICC prosecutor.
Khan, who is currently on leave, has not issued a comment on the matter.
According to Kaufman, Khan “first acted in his capacity as a private lawyer for… victims of the so-called war on drugs” and allegedly “exploited” information obtained during that time to advance ICC actions against Duterte.
“Mr. Khan relied on information obtained while defending the independent interests of the victims to support actions falling under an entirely separate mandate – one that also carries the obligation to disclose exculpatory evidence,” Kaufman stated.
He further claimed that “in these circumstances, and absent information to the contrary, Mr. Khan abused the criminal process to push forward an investigation in which he had an undeclared personal interest or, at the very least, an undeclared personal obligation from which he had not sought to release himself.”
Kaufman noted that the alleged “contamination” of the investigation’s integrity will be litigated during Duterte’s confirmation of charges hearing scheduled for September 23.
Khan became ICC prosecutor in June 2021, shortly after his predecessor Fatou Bensouda formally requested the opening of the investigation into the situation in the Philippines.